This aerial shot taken using a drone shows a flooded area in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia, Friday, Nov. 28, 2025.
Binsar Bakkara/AP
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Binsar Bakkara/AP
PADANG, Indonesia – The death toll from flash floods and landslides on Indonesia’s Sumatra island rose to 174 on Friday, with 79 people missing, officials said.
Rescue workers were hampered by damaged bridges and roads and a lack of heavy equipment.
The death toll in North Sumatra province rose to 116, while 35 people died in Aceh. Suharyanto, head of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, said rescue workers also recovered 23 bodies in West Sumatra.
Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysical Agency said a tropical cyclone is expected to persist over the Southeast Asian nation for several days.
Monsoon rains caused rivers to swell in North Sumatra province on Tuesday. The National Disaster Management Agency said the floods devastated mountain villages, sweeping away people and inundating more than 3,200 homes and buildings. About 3,000 displaced families fled to government shelters.
The agency said thousands of homes in the island’s other provinces, Aceh and West Sumatra, were flooded, with many losing their roofs.
North Sumatra regional police spokesman Ferry Wulantukan said landslides had covered much of the area, causing power outages and a lack of telecommunications that was hampering search efforts.
West Sumatra’s disaster mitigation agency reported that more than 17,000 homes were submerged in the floods, forcing about 23,000 residents to flee to temporary shelters. Rice fields, livestock and public facilities were also destroyed and floods and landslides cut off bridges and roads and left residents isolated.
In Aceh province, officials struggled to get digging equipment and other heavy equipment across broken roads after torrential rains left mountain settlements covered in mud and rockslides. At least six people died and 11 were missing in three villages in central Aceh district.
Achadi Subarka Raharjo at Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysical Agency said the extreme weather was driven by Tropical Cyclone Senyar, which formed in the Strait of Malacca.
He warned that unstable atmospheric conditions mean extreme weather could persist as long as the cyclone system remains active.
“We have raised extreme weather warnings due to strong water vapor supply and changing atmospheric dynamics,” Raharjo said.
Senyar brought intense rainfall, strong winds and high waves to Aceh, North Sumatra, West Sumatra, Riau and surrounding areas before dissipating. He said that due to prolonged heavy rains, sloping, saturated areas have become highly vulnerable to disasters.
Seasonal rains often cause floods and landslides in Indonesia, an archipelago of 17,000 islands where millions of people live in mountainous areas or near fertile floodplains.
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