Indonesia Flood Death Toll Surpasses 900 as Rescue Efforts Intensify

• Dec 07, 2025

The death toll from Indonesia’s devastating floods has risen to more than 900, with hundreds of people still unaccounted for as rescue teams struggle to reach isolated communities battered by last week’s rare cyclone.

A powerful and unusual weather system formed over the Malacca Strait, bringing relentless rainfall, massive flooding and landslides that destroyed more than 100,000 homes across several regions. Entire villages were swept away, and survivors in some of the worst-hit areas described scenes of desperation and fear as water levels surged rapidly.

In Aceh Tamiang, where destruction has been severe, residents recounted how floods moved with such force that families had no time to salvage belongings. One survivor from Lintang Bawah Village told BBC Indonesian that people were forced to climb onto rooftops to stay alive. Fitriana, a resident, described how some families survived for three days without food or water, sheltering on the roofs of their homes with young children. She estimated that about 90% of houses in her village had been destroyed, leaving around 300 families displaced with no shelter.

Another man recalled being evacuated by boat after floodwaters rose to the second floor of his home. But after moving to a nearby village, his family had to flee again when water seeped through the mattresses they were sleeping on. He said they survived by climbing to the upper floor of a relative’s home, as there was no higher ground available.

Across the region, emergency teams continue to search for victims, with officials reporting that bodies are being recovered from deep, sticky mud. The governor of the affected area said many communities remain unreachable, especially in remote parts of Aceh. He warned that people are now dying not only from the effects of the flooding but also from lack of food, as aid has not reached some locations.

Rescue operations have been complicated by damaged infrastructure, with land routes to Sibolga City and Central Tapanuli still cut off. Aid is being delivered by air to some areas and by sea to others. Indonesian media also reported that prisoners were released from one facility when floodwaters threatened to overwhelm the prison, with officials saying there was nowhere else to relocate them.

The floods in Indonesia are part of a wave of extreme weather events that have struck Asia in recent weeks. Combined death tolls from disasters in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam are nearing 2,000, highlighting the scale of destruction across the region.

There have also been reports of looting in some affected towns as desperate residents struggle to secure basic supplies, underscoring the growing humanitarian crisis facing Indonesia’s hardest-hit communities.