Indonesian rescuers race to find hundreds missing in deadliest flood since 2004 tsunami

• Authorities are facing mounting criticism over slow response to the deadly disasters
• Local communities have been self-organizing to distribute aid, as death toll tops 700

JAKARTA: Indonesian rescuers were struggling on Tuesday to reach cut-off villages in Sumatra, where over 700 people were killed and more than 500 remain missing following the most devastating floods and landslides in decades.

The floods and landslides, which were triggered by extreme weather linked to tropical cyclones Senyar and Koto, hit the provinces of North Sumatra, West Sumatra and Aceh last week and displaced some 1.1 million people, according to Indonesia’s National Disaster Mitigation Agency.

The death toll climbed to 744 on Tuesday afternoon, as search efforts continued for at least 551 people who have been recorded missing.

“Search and rescue efforts are ongoing and a priority for the team on the ground,” said Abdul Muhari, spokesman of Indonesia’s disaster management agency, during a livestreamed press conference.

In Aceh province, which was the site of a cataclysmic tsunami in 2004, at least three regencies were still inaccessible by land, he added.

Indonesian aid workers have been trying to reach people on foot and by motorbikes, as many roads remain impassable to large vehicles, while some aid has been delivered through air drops by the country’s air force.

“When we first reached the affected areas, what crossed all of our minds was that this is a second tsunami for Aceh,” Khalida Zia, a youth activist who has been organizing aid for her hometown in the Bireun regency, told Arab News.

“The situation was very bad on the ground. I was stunned and speechless. It was mind-boggling that the situation was so bad but there was a lack of response from the government … People cried when we came with aid.”

Zia has been raising funds online through Svara, a youth empowerment platform based in Banda Aceh that has turned into an emergency disaster response group as it pooled and delivered aid to flood survivors in various regencies since Saturday.

She said many Acehnese were completely cut off for days, without power or access to communication lines. In the North Aceh regency, residents were struggling to leave the area to get basic necessities after the floods caused the collapse of a local bridge.

“The threat of hunger is real. Some people may have not eaten for six days … People are saying that it looks bad on social media, but it’s actually even worse, because many incidents are still unaccounted for … People are isolated, there’s no phone service, no electricity, no food,” Zia said.

“It appears that not one person, especially these government officials, learned from the 2004 tsunami in Aceh. It’s like everyone returned to square one, and so when this happened, everyone was surprised.”

The impact of last week’s floods and landslides is “more extensive and far worse than the tsunami” in 2004, said Ira Hadiati, Aceh coordinator for the Medical Emergency Rescue Committee, or MER-C, as 18 Acehnese cities and regencies have been affected — about twice more than in the 2004 disaster.

“I was also the one who organized volunteers in Aceh when the tsunami happened,” she told Arab News. “If we are to rely only on the provincial authorities to handle the aftermath of these floods and landslides, we would never be able to manage, that’s why I am urging for this to be declared a national emergency.”

Indonesian authorities are facing mounting criticism over the government’s slow response to the deadly disasters, which have led local communities to self-organize to collect and distribute aid.

One of them is Rico Saptahadi, a content creator based in Padang, West Sumatra, who has used his online platform this past week to organize aid for his hometown in the Palembayan district of the Agam regency.

“We are targeting isolated communities who have yet to receive any kind of aid. We find ways to reach their locations on our own,” Saptahadi said.

“When the landslides occurred, much of the road access got blocked and ended up isolating communities. When we say isolated, we mean that they haven’t been able to leave their locations for the past week, no electricity, and running out of food supplies.”

His videos are gaining traction among Indonesians in other parts of the country, as he reported the flood aftermath in West Sumatra and the limits of the government’s current response.

“This disaster is affecting many different regions. But officials are only going to the areas that are easy to access,” he said.

“There are still many unreachable areas that were directly hit by the disasters, whose houses were destroyed. Many of the missing people are still unaccounted for.”