Death toll in Indonesian floods surpasses 800

Authorities had previously reported 631 deaths. According to BNPB, the latest number stands at 804 deaths, with over 650 people missing and hundreds of thousands of residents displaced on the island of Sumatra in western Indonesia. Despite over 800 deaths, thousands injured, and massive destruction in Sumatra, the Indonesian Government resists mounting pressure to declare a state of emergency after the floods. The country has only taken this step three times, during the 1992 earthquake and tsunami, the 2004 tsunami that killed tens of thousands, and during the Covid-19 pandemic. Calls are increasing for the Government to declare a state of emergency, with advocates arguing that it would release resources and improve humanitarian aid coordination.