57 People Died Due To Floods In North Sumatra, Communication In Areas Affected By Paralyzed

A resident brought items that could still be saved after being hit by flash floods in Agam Regency, West Sumatra, Friday (28/11/2025). ANTARA/Muhammad Zulfikar

JAKARTA - The number of victims of floods and landslides in North Sumatra has increased again after the local government submitted the latest data updates to the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB).

Head of the BNPB Disaster Data, Information and Communication Center Abdul Muhari said the situation at several affected points was still unstable, while communication disruptions made the data collection process not easy.

"For North Sumatra, yesterday afternoon we also received the latest data update from the Regent of Central Tapanuli who said that in Central Tapanuli there were 34 people who died and 33 people were still missing," he explained.

Abdul Muhari added that the findings immediately made the number of disaster victims in the province increase significantly.

"This is a new number which of course increased the number of victims previously in South Tapanuli, there were 13 deaths and three are missing," he continued.

In addition to the two areas, victims were also reported from other areas in North Sumatra. There was one victim who died in Pakpak, and three people died and five people are still missing in South Tapanuli.

Abdul Muhari said the data changes also occurred after the local government carried out field verification, including in Humbang Hasundutan Regency.

"Previously, we also adjusted the death toll from the local government of Humbang Hasundutan Regency. The five victims previously submitted were corrected by the local government, the numbers were four victims who died, and four were missing," said Abdul Muhari.

He emphasized that the dynamics of the victim's data continued to move along with the discovery of residents who turned out to be survivors even though previously recorded missing or even suspected of dying. So far

"Indeed, this data will still be dynamic and the BNPB team in the field accompanying local governments will also continue to validate this data because the situation is still very dynamic," he said.

Based on all the updates as of Friday, November 28 morning, the total number of deaths in North Sumatra was recorded at 57 people, with details of 34 people in Central Tapanuli, 13 people in South Tapanuli, 1 person in Pakpak Bharat, 5 people in North Tapanuli, and 4 people in Humbang Hasundutan.

In the midst of a surge in victim reports, emergency handling operations faced major obstacles due to the paralysis of communication networks in a number of areas. Some areas are still isolated after floods and landslides damaged road access, cut off electricity supply, and had an impact on hundreds of telecommunication sites.

He explained that the selection of Tarutung as the command center was carried out to facilitate cross-provincial coordination.

"This is the location with the easiest accessibility and for the mobilization of personnel equipment and logistics, the existence of the Main Command Post will reach 3 operational areas for Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra," he said.

To support aid mobilization, BNPB deployed air power as part of emergency operations. Logistics distribution is said to be the main focus, especially to areas where assistance has not yet been touched because land access has been cut off.

"Of course, the main thing is the distribution of logistics in areas that may not have been touched or in regencies and cities where access is still difficult due to whether it is a broken bridge, be it roads that are still buried by landslides or communication access that are still limited," he explained.

In addition, communication disruption is a big challenge in rescue operations. BNPB recorded 495 telecommunication sites not functioning in Central Tapanuli, South Tapanuli, and Sibolga City. Telkomsel's Infrastructure, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison, and XL Axiata were affected by power outages and damage to the transmission network.

This condition makes thousands of residents unable to contact their families, report to officers, or ask for help. Field officers now rely on satellite radio and portable repeaters to fill out communication vacancies.