JakartaPost-Dec 5
The government and various officials have come under fire over their poor response, insensitive remarks and performative visits amid the northern Sumatra floods and landslides, fueling public frustration about the crisis management by authorities. Floods and landslides struck many parts of Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra after Tropical Cyclone Senyar, a rare storm forming in the Malacca Strait, hit Sumatra Island on Nov. 25. Thousands of homes and other buildings, as well as roads and bridges connecting regions across the three provinces, were destroyed. At least 836 people had been killed and 518 others remained missing as of Thursday, according to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB). The largest number of fatalities was recorded in Aceh with 325 dead. A week after the storm made its landfall in Sumatra, the government is still scrambling to find those missing and distribute aid, as several affected areas remain cut off and awaiting supplies from authorities. One of these is Nagan Raya regency in Aceh, where nearly 8,500 people were displaced by floods and landslides hitting the area on Nov. 27. Nagan Raya Regent Teuku Raja Keumangan noted that Beutong Ateuh Banggalang district in the regency, which has a population of 2,100, was still cut off as of Thursday, after flash floods destroyed roads and bridges leading to it. He called for assistance from the Aceh provincial administration and the central government to open access to the cut-off district. “Our local capacity, both in terms of budget and equipment, is no longer sufficient to respond to the scale of emergency,” Keumangan said in a phone interview with The Jakarta Post on Thursday. The BNPB had sent a truck of logistical assistance to Nagan Raya on Wednesday, according to spokesperson Abdul Muhari. Read more at:
