Heavy Rain Threatens Flood-Hit Sumatra as Death Toll Rises

Heavy rain is set to hit Indonesia’s flood-stricken island of Sumatra again on Saturday, raising fears that the death toll could rise above 883, mainly due to starvation, officials have warned.

A series of tropical storms and monsoon rains have battered Southeast and South Asia, causing landslides and flash floods from Sumatra’s rainforests to Sri Lanka’s highland plantations. Since last week, at least 1,770 people have died across Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam due to these natural disasters.

Indonesia’s national weather agency has warned that rain may return to Aceh and North Sumatra, where floods have destroyed roads, buried houses under mud and silt, and cut off essential supplies.

Aceh Governor Muzakir Manaf said rescue teams are still searching for bodies in areas with “waist-deep” mud. He added that starvation is now the biggest threat in remote villages that remain unreachable.

“Many people need basic necessities. People are not dying from the flood, but from starvation,” Manaf said.

Entire villages in Aceh Tamiang have been wiped out, he said, describing the area as “completely destroyed, from the top to the bottom, down to the roads and down to the sea.” Many villages now exist only in name.

Residents like Munawar Liza Zainal expressed frustration with the government for not declaring a national disaster. “This is an extraordinary disaster that must be faced with extraordinary measures,” he said, warning that any delay in declaring national disaster status could slow aid and relief efforts.

Declaring a national disaster would unlock more resources and help coordinate the response, but analysts suggest the government may be reluctant to do so, fearing it would signal inability to manage the crisis. The Indonesian government has maintained that it can handle the situation.