BNPB: 147 Thousand Houses Damaged Due to Sumatra Disaster

Aerial photo of workers operating heavy equipment while cleaning flood debris and landslides in Nagari Guguak Malalo, Tanah Datar, West Sumatra, Tuesday (2/12/2025) ANTARA FOTO/Wawan Kurniawan/Lmo/bar

Banda Aceh - The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) has recorded more than 147 thousand houses damaged by flash floods and landslides in three provinces on the island of Sumatra.

Head of the BNPB Disaster Data, Information, and Communication Center, Abdul Muhari, said the government continues to accelerate the post-disaster recovery steps after the floods and landslides that hit Aceh Province, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra.

"As many as 147 thousand more houses have been damaged ranging from mild to severe categories due to disasters until Tuesday (16/12). This data is a reference for planning the construction of temporary and permanent housing for affected people," he said as quoted by ANTARA, Tuesday, December 16.

Abdul Muhari detailed the damage to houses in Aceh Province as many as 106,058 units. The details are, 46,779 units are slightly damaged, 22,951 units are moderately damaged, and 36,328 units are severely damaged.

Meanwhile, the three regencies with the most damaged houses are North Aceh with 36,964 units, East Aceh reaching 18,914 units, and Aceh Tamiang with 10,720 units.

Meanwhile, in North Sumatra, he said, the total number of damaged houses reached 28,708 units, consisting of 19,651 units of minor damage, 3,899 units of moderate damage, and 5,158 units of severe damage.

"Of the number of severely damaged houses, 1,068 units were reported missing or washed away by the flood. The areas with the largest impact include Langkat Regency with 11,273 units, Central Tapanuli 6,481 units, and South Tapanuli 4,624 units," said Abdul Muhari.

Meanwhile, in West Sumatra, 12,451 houses were damaged, with 6,933 units damaged, 2,959 units damaged, and 2,559 units damaged.

The most significant impact occurred in Padang City with 5,497 damaged houses, followed by Padang Pariaman Regency with 3,490 units and Agam Regency with 1,540 units.

Abdul Muhari said that the data collection of damaged houses was carried out in detail and verified as part of the government's commitment to ensure that the recovery process is targeted and sustainable.

"This data is the basis for the preparation and planning of residential development, both for relocation and development at the original location, especially for lightly damaged houses," he said.

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For the construction of housing at the initial location, he said, of course, paying attention to the aspects of disaster mitigation, both structural and non-structural to prevent similar disaster impacts in the future.

According to him, houses with a light damage category are still possible to be rebuilt at the original location with a safer neighborhood area arrangement.

"Meanwhile, houses that are severely damaged and in the vulnerable zone will be directed to a more decent and safe relocation scheme. And this is still being discussed with the local government," he said.

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BNPB together with relevant ministries and agencies as well as local governments are currently accelerating the process of further data collection and identification of residential locations.

"We hope that this week the data collection can be finalized, including determining the location of temporary and permanent housing. The President has directed that this process be accelerated so that construction can begin immediately," said Abdul Muhari.

In addition to the damage to residential infrastructure, BNPB also recorded the latest development in the number of fatalities. As of Tuesday (16/12), the total number of deaths due to floods and landslides in the three provinces increased to 1,053 people.

Cumulatively, the number of deaths in Aceh was 449, North Sumatra reached 360, and West Sumatra 244. Meanwhile, 200 people are still missing and are still in the search process.

The number of refugees to date is recorded as 606,040 people. It consists of 571,201 people in Aceh, 21,579 people in North Sumatra, and 13,260 people in West Sumatra.

"The government ensures that the basic needs of refugees, ranging from food, clean water, health services, to psychosocial support, continue to be met through cross-ministerial coordination, local governments, and humanitarian partners," said Abdul Muhari.