JakartaPost/TribuneNews-Dec 3, 2025
With at least 712 dead and hundreds more missing from floods and landslides across northern Sumatra, regional leaders have admitted that they cannot handle the crisis alone, underscoring deep budgetary and logistical gaps in disaster response. Three Aceh regents, Central Aceh’s Haili Yoga, South Aceh’s Mirwan MS and Pidie Jaya’s Sibral Malasyi, have signed circulars admitting their limited disaster response capacity, with many villages still cut off even seven days after the disaster. The letters detail damage to infrastructure, disrupted health services and impaired transportation, along with paralyzed economic activity. Aceh Governor Muzakir Manaf even broke down in tears as he described the devastation from last week’s floods and landslides, calling the catastrophe a “second tsunami” that wiped out several villages, leaving large parts of the province in ruins. He said the immediate priority was restoring access to isolated areas across 18 regencies and municipalities. However, East Aceh Regent Iskandar Usman Al Farlaky revealed on Tuesday that fellow regents were struggling due to a lack of heavy equipment and insufficient budgets. Under President Prabowo Subianto’s administration, regional government budgets have been significantly reduced this year, with further cuts planned for 2026, affecting both revenue-sharing funds and regional transfer funds. Meanwhile, the Center for Economic and Law Studies (Celios) called for an “immediate moratorium on mining permits and the expansion of palm oil plantations”, citing extractive activities as a trigger for the disaster. Celios estimated the disasters would cause national economic losses of Rp 68.67 trillion, with Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra projected to lose Rp 2.2 trillion, Rp 2.07 trillion and Rp 2.01 trillion, respectively. Read more at:
