Deadly floods and landslides across northern Sumatra have intensified public scrutiny of extractive industries, with environmental groups alleging that years of weak oversight have magnified the scale of the ecological disaster.
Torrential rains and strong winds, associated with what local media reported as Tropical Cyclone Senyar, hit northern Sumatra on November 25, triggering widespread flooding and landslides across Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra provinces. The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) reported that as of Wednesday, at least 3.1 million people were affected, with 770 confirmed dead, approximately 2,600 injured, and nearly 500 still missing.
Environmental Degradation Blamed for Exacerbating Disaster
Environmental organizations, prominently the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), have attributed the severe impact of the disaster to extensive deforestation and inadequate enforcement of environmental regulations. The group highlighted that approximately 1.4 million hectares of forest cover had been cleared across the three affected provinces between 2016 and 2025. This deforestation, according to Walhi, was primarily to facilitate operations for industries such as plantations and mining.
Uli Arta Siagian, Walhi’s forest and plantation campaigner, stated on Monday, “These facts clearly show that today’s ecological disasters are caused by state officials and corporations. The government needs to evaluate all business permits, especially ones located in critical ecosystems.” Walhi’s data indicates that the areas most severely impacted by floods and landslides were degraded watersheds.
For instance, in North Sumatra, several flood-stricken regencies including South Tapanuli, Central Tapanuli, North Tapanuli, and Sibolga City, are situated within the Batang Toru watershed. This critical area alone lost nearly 73,000 hectares of forest between 2016 and 2024. [reuters.com](https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/landslides-indonesias-sumatra-kill-least-27-rescuers-search-missing-2024-11-28/) reported that rescuers found 20 dead during searches over the weekend, with more expected to be found. Hadi Wahyudi, North Sumatra police spokesperson, added that a landslide in Deli Serdang killed seven and injured 20, with efforts underway to locate a minibus and other vehicles trapped in mud.
Ongoing Search and Rainfall Warnings
Rescuers are continuing their search for missing individuals, including people believed to be trapped in a minibus and other vehicles caught in a mudslide on a hilly inter-province road. The exact number of affected people in this incident remains unconfirmed. Juspri M Nadeak, head of the local disaster management agency in Karo, indicated that the presence of hot springs in the landslide area raises the possibility of unidentified tourists being among the victims, as reported by [abc.net.au](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-11-28/sumatra-landslide-leaves-at-least-27-dead/104660808). Hadi Wahyudi confirmed that excavators have been deployed to assist in the search and clear affected roads. The landslides and flash floods have caused extensive damage to homes, mosques, and rice fields.
The severity of the situation has drawn parallels to other recent extreme weather events in Indonesia. In May, flash floods, resulting from a mixture of volcanic ash and debris from Mount Marapi in West Sumatra, claimed at least 67 lives. The country’s weather agency has issued warnings of extreme weather and increased rainfall towards the end of 2024, attributing this to the La Niña phenomenon, which intensifies precipitation across the tropical archipelago.
The impact of the heavy rains was also felt in Medan, the provincial capital, where flooding led to delays in voting for a regional election at several polling stations. The ongoing recovery efforts are hampered by persistent rain, making the search for the missing challenging, according to disaster agency spokesman Abdul Muhari, as cited by [straitstimes.com](https://straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/indonesia-province-resumes-search-for-7-missing-after-landslide-and-floods-kill-15). Authorities have extended the search operation until November 30, with warnings issued to North Sumatra residents about potential further flooding in the coming weeks.
