The devastating floods and landslides have left over 900 dead on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia, as announced by the country’s disaster management agency on Saturday (6), with fears that the death toll may rise due to food shortages. The catastrophic convergence of two tropical cyclones and the monsoon season has resulted in around 1,800 fatalities in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. Of these casualties, 908 have occurred on the touristy island of Sumatra in western Indonesia, with over 400 people still missing. However, the number is expected to increase due to the looming threat of famine in the villages and inaccessible areas in the remote regions of Aceh, as mentioned by Governor Muzakir Manaf.
“Many people require basic necessities,” he told the press, warning that “people do not die from the floods, but from starvation.” The Indonesian meteorological service has forecasted a return of rain to Aceh and Sumatra, where many homes have been buried under water and mud. One flood survivor named Fachrul Rozi revealed that he spent the past week huddled in an old tent with other flood victims, scrounging for whatever food they could find and helping each other with limited supplies. He described the dire conditions they endured, stating that they slept piled on top of each other.
Meanwhile, Munawar Liza Zainal, another Aceh resident, expressed feeling “betrayed” by the Indonesian government for not declaring a national disaster despite mounting pressures. The government in Sri Lanka, on the other hand, has requested international aid and reported a death toll of 611 with 213 still missing on the island situated south of India. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake labeled the crisis as the most severe natural disaster the country has ever faced. Over two million people – nearly 10% of the population – have been affected by the floods and landslides.
Survivors will receive up to ten million rupees (US$33,000 or R$173,100) to buy land in safer areas and build new homes, as guaranteed by the Ministry of Finance in a statement on Friday night. The government is also offering compensation of one million rupees (R$17,310) to families of the deceased or those left permanently disabled by the tragedy. The central bank has instructed both public and private financial institutions to restructure loans for vulnerable individuals and refrain from penalizing defaulters. The Disaster Management Center reported damages to over 71,000 homes. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is evaluating Sri Lanka’s request for an additional US$200 million (R$1 billion) amid its serious economic crisis, in addition to the $347 million (R$1.9 billion) scheduled for disbursement this month.
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