Indonesia intensifies search for victims after floods, landslides kill 49 people

Rescuers searched connected Thursday (November 27, 2025) successful rivers and the rubble of villages for bodies, and erstwhile imaginable survivors, aft flash floods and landslides connected Indonesia’s Sumatra land near 49 radical dormant and 67 missing.

Monsoon rains implicit the past week caused rivers to burst their banks successful North Sumatra state Tuesday. The deluge tore done mountainside village, swept distant radical and submerged much than 2,000 houses and buildings, the National Disaster Management Agency said. Nearly 5,000 residents fled to authorities shelters.

Seventeen bodies were recovered by Thursday (November 27) successful South Tapanuli territory and 8 bodies successful Sibolga city, North Sumatra provincial police’s spokesperson Ferry Walintukan said successful a statement. In the neighbouring territory of Central Tapanuli, landslides deed respective homes, sidesplitting astatine slightest a household of four.

Rescue workers besides recovered 2 bodies successful Pakpak Bharat territory and were searching for 5 radical reported missing successful Humbang Hasundutan, different territory devastated by landslides that killed 2 villagers, Mr. Walintukan said. At slightest 1 nonmigratory died erstwhile mud and debris struck a main roadworthy connected a tiny Nias island, helium added.

“With galore missing and immoderate distant areas inactive unreachable, the decease toll was apt to rise,” Mr. Walintukan said.

More downpours were forecast for North Sumatra state and the information of utmost rainfall volition proceed until adjacent week, Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency said.

It recommended upwind modification to trim rain, and catastrophe bureau main Suharyanto said unreality seeding would beryllium done to forestall further rainfall and floods.

“We are deploying upwind modification exertion starting time truthful that rainfall does not autumn during this exigency effect period,” Mr. Suharyanto, who goes by a azygous sanction similar galore Indonesians, told reporters earlier visiting flood- and landslide-hit areas of Sibolga metropolis connected Thursday (November 27).

Cloud seeding involves dispersing particles into clouds to make precipitation, which would beryllium done to redirect rainfall distant from areas wherever hunt and rescue efforts were continuing.

Television reports showed rescue unit utilizing jackhammers, circular saws, workplace tools and sometimes their bare hands to excavation successful areas marked by heavy mud, rocks and uprooted trees. Rescuers successful rubber boats were searching done a stream and helped children and older radical who were forced onto the roofs of flooded homes and buildings.

Deadly floods deed different provinces connected Sumatra island

Floods were besides occurring elsewhere successful the immense archipelago, including successful Aceh and West Sumatra, wherever hundreds of houses were flooded, galore up to roofs, the catastrophe bureau said.

Rescuers by Thursday (November 27) recovered astatine slightest 9 bodies aft landslides triggered by torrential rains struck 3 villages successful Central Aceh connected Wednesday, said the territory main Halili Yoga, who called connected the section catastrophe bureau to deploy and excavator to propulsion retired astatine slightest 2 radical buried nether mud.

Aceh’s Disaster Mitigation Agency said astir 47,000 radical were displaced by floods successful the province, forcing astir 1,500 residents to fly to impermanent shelters.

In West Sumatra province, rescue teams pulled six bodies of radical who drowned successful floods successful Lumin Park residential country successful the provincial superior of Padang, the section catastrophe bureau reported. The flooding submerged much than 3,300 houses successful Padang Pariaman district.

The section bureau said rescuers were searching for 14 radical believed to beryllium buried nether mud and rocks that deed hilly Jorong Toboh village, portion landslides besides chopped disconnected bridges and blocked main roads, isolating immoderate residents.

Heavy seasonal rainfall from astir October to March often causes flooding and landslides successful Indonesia, an archipelago of 17,000 islands wherever millions of radical unrecorded successful mountainous areas oregon adjacent fertile floodplains.