At Least 10 Killed, Dozens Missing as Floods and Landslides Hit Indonesia’s Sumatra

Torrential monsoon rains have unleashed destructive floods and landslides across Indonesia’s Sumatra island, killing at least 10 people and leaving dozens more missing, local authorities said on Wednesday.

Days of relentless rainfall forced rivers in North Sumatra to overflow, sending mud, rocks, and uprooted trees crashing into villages across six regencies. Rescue teams are struggling to reach isolated communities due to damaged roads, unstable slopes, and ongoing downpours.

Officials reported that five bodies and three injured survivors were recovered in the coastal city of Sibolga, the hardest-hit area. Search teams are still looking for four missing residents as damage assessments continue. In neighbouring Central Tapanuli, landslides crushed several homes, killing at least four members of one family and submerging nearly 2,000 houses and public buildings.

Further south, floods and falling trees killed one resident in South Tapanuli and injured another. A bridge in Mandailing Natal district was destroyed, cutting off access for nearby communities, while 470 homes were inundated. On Nias island, mud and debris blocked the main road linking several villages.

Videos circulating online show torrents of water sweeping over rooftops as families scramble to higher ground. In some areas, flash floods surged so rapidly that streets turned into violent currents carrying tree trunks, household items, and rubble.

Sibolga police chief Eddy Inganta said emergency shelters have been set up across the city, urging residents near unstable slopes to evacuate immediately. He warned that persistent rainfall could trigger further landslides.

The disaster comes just as Indonesia’s National Disaster Mitigation Agency ended a 10-day search in Central Java, where earlier storms killed 38 people. Authorities called off operations due to unstable ground and worsening weather, leaving 13 people still missing in Cilacap and Banjarnegara.

Indonesia faces frequent floods and landslides during the rainy season from October to March, with millions living in flood-prone lowlands or on steep, unstable hillsides.