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DW News published December 6, 2025: Why hasn't Indonesia declared a state of emergency yet?
Indonesians are bracing for more heavy rains after floods and landslides devastated regions in the north and west. More than 880 people have been confirmed dead and hundreds are missing. A chain of tropical storms hit South and Southeast Asia last week. More heavy rain is expected in the next 24 hours. DW's Georg Matthes has this report from North Sumatra.
Sri Lanka is also bracing for more devastation after it was hit by a cyclone last week. Forecasters are warning of fresh rains and landslides. More than 600 are dead and another 200 people are missing. Around two million people have been affected by floods and landslides. Tens of thousands of homes have been damaged. The government has announced a compensation package to help people rebuild.
USA TODAY published November 30, 2025: Indonesia floods leave hundreds dead amid cyclone devastation, hundreds still missing.
Indonesia's National Disaster Management Agency announced a total of 303 people died and 279 remain missing after flash floods and landslides struck three provinces in Indonesia's Sumatra region.
The Financial Express published Dec 5, 2025: Explained: 1,200 Dead In Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand. Destruction Reasons Despite Warnings.
Cyclone-driven floods and landslides across Indonesia, Thailand, and Sri Lanka have killed more than 1,200 people, despite early warnings issued days in advance. This deep-dive explainer breaks down why the disaster turned so catastrophic, what went wrong on the ground, and how a combination of extreme weather, inadequate evacuation systems, and fragile infrastructure amplified the devastation.
We look at:
• How the cyclone formed and why it intensified so rapidly
• Why early warnings did not translate into effective ground action
• The role of geography, river swelling, and deforestation in worsening floods
• Infrastructure failures across Aceh, West Sumatra, southern Thailand, and Sri Lanka
• What experts say about climate-linked extreme weather events in South Asia
Watch this in-depth report to understand what went wrong — and what this disaster signals for future climate preparedness across the region.
Reuters News
written by Ajeng Ulfiana and Yudhistira
Saturday December 6, 2025
ACEH TAMIANG, Indonesia - Residents in the Indonesian region of Aceh Tamiang climbed over slippery logs and walked for about an hour on Saturday to get aid, as the death toll from floods and landslides that hit Sumatra island this month reached more than 900.
The number known to have died as a result of the cyclone-induced floods and landslides across three Indonesian provinces on Sumatra, including Aceh, was 916 on Saturday, with 274 listed as missing, government data showed. The storm systems also killed about 200 people in southern Thailand and Malaysia.
Survivors in the Aceh Tamiang region, on the northeast coast of Sumatra, walked for an hour on Saturday, scrambling over scattered logs and passing overturned cars to reach an aid distribution centre set up by volunteers, they told Reuters.
Volunteers handed out clean clothes and brought in a tanker truck of fresh water so people could fill plastic bottles, Reuters witnesses said.
RESIDENTS DRINK FLOODWATER
Dimas Firmansyah, a 14-year-old at an Islamic boarding school, said Aceh Tamiang had been cut off, and that students had stayed at the school for a week, taking turns to search for food and boiling and drinking floodwater.
"We stayed for about a week there," Dimas said, urging the government to come to the area to see the calamity themselves.
Local government officials on Sumatra have called on the national government in Jakarta to declare a national emergency to free up additional funds for rescue and relief efforts.
Earlier this week, President Prabowo Subianto said the situation was improving and current arrangements were sufficient.
ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS SAY DEFORESTATION TO BLAME
Green groups say deforestation linked to mining and logging aggravated the impact of the floods, and Indonesia is investigating companies suspected of clearing forests around flood-hit areas.
Indonesia's environment ministry said it had temporarily halted the operations of the suspected companies, and that it will require them to perform environmental audits.
The companies include North Sumatra Hydro Energy, which runs the China-funded 510-megawatt hydropower plant in the Batang Toru region of North Sumatra, miner Agincourt Resources, which operates the Martabe Gold Mine, also in Batang Toru, and state agricultural group Perkebunan Nusantara III. The latter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
North Sumatra Hydro Energy also did not immediately respond to a query sent on LinkedIn. Agincourt Resources declined to comment, a spokesperson said, as it had not received an official letter on the halt.
Aerial surveys show land-clearing in Batang Toru that may have exacerbated the flooding, the environment ministry said.
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United Nations news
written by Vibhu Mishra
Thursday December 4, 2025
Since mid-November, overlapping tropical storms and intensified monsoon systems have triggered catastrophic flooding and landslides across Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Viet Nam.
UN teams across the region are supporting government-led emergency operations with food, health, water and sanitation aid, medical deployments and early recovery assessments, as heavy rains continue and fears grow that the crisis could deepen.
“We continue to closely monitor the situation and remain in close contact with national authorities,” UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told reporters in New York on Thursday.
“The UN stands ready to support any ongoing efforts.”
Overlapping storms
Experts say the disasters were driven by an unusual convergence of powerful weather systems, including Cyclones Ditwah and Senyar, alongside a strengthened northeast monsoon.
Warm ocean temperatures and shifting storm tracks have produced extreme rainfall in areas that historically faced lower cyclone risk.
Across the region, nearly 11 million people have been affected, including about 1.2 million forced from their homes into shelters, while roads, utilities and farmlands have been washed away.
Heavy toll on children
Children are bearing a devastating share of the storms, with millions cut off from schools, clean water and basic services. More than 4.1 million children across the region have had their education disrupted since late November alone, according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
Some three million students in Viet Nam have been unable to attend class, while nearly one million were affected in the Philippines, and hundreds of thousands more in Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia.
Many children are now living in overcrowded evacuation shelters, exposed to disease, malnutrition and heightened protection risks.
“Children are sitting at the frontline of the climate crisis, experiencing firsthand what it means when extreme weather becomes more frequent, more intense, and less predictable,” UNICEF Deputy Spokesperson Ricardo Pires said, calling for urgent action to protect them and their futures.
Sri Lanka: Nationwide devastation
Sri Lanka bore some of the worst impacts after Cyclone Ditwah made landfall on 28 November, triggering floods and landslides across nearly the entire island.
The highest death tolls were reported in the hill districts of Kandy, Nuwara Eliya and Badulla, where landslides swept through plantation communities. Severe flooding also inundated western and north-western districts – including Colombo’s outer suburbs – disrupting markets, transport and water supplies.
Early assessments point to heightened gender-specific risks in the aftermath of the disaster.
With livelihoods disrupted and thousands sheltering in overcrowded centres, women and girls face increased exposure to gender-based violence, economic insecurity and interruptions to sexual and reproductive health services, particularly in rural and plantation communities already grappling with poverty and limited access to care.
Indonesia: Flash floods and landslides
In Indonesia, relentless downpours between 22 and 25 November triggered deadly floods and landslides across Aceh, West Sumatra and North Sumatra, devastating dozens of districts.
Official figures indicate more than 830 deaths, with at least 500 people still missing, and more than 880,000 displaced. In total, over three million people have been affected by floodwaters, collapsed hillsides and destroyed infrastructure.
Entire villages have been submerged, bridges washed away and roads cut off, isolating communities and slowing rescue efforts. Emergency teams are relying on helicopters and boats to deliver aid to areas unreachable by land.
“We are working closely with the government on water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), logistics, and coordination with local partners,” UN Spokesperson Dujarric said.
Thailand and Malaysia: Mass evacuations
Moving east, intensified monsoon rains have battered southern Thailand, where 12 provinces have been affected.
At least 185 people have died, with 367 missing and over four million people impacted. More than 219,000 residents have been displaced as rivers burst their banks and low-lying coastal areas flooded.
In neighbouring Malaysia, flooding across eight northern and central states has displaced around 37,000 people. Authorities continue to issue evacuation orders and weather warnings as rain persists.
Viet Nam: A relentless typhoon season
Viet Nam is confronting the cumulative toll of one of its harshest typhoon seasons in years. Since October, a succession of storms has flooded and damaged large swathes of the country, particularly in northern and central provinces.
Persistent downpours since mid-November, compounded by Tropical Cyclone Koto, have triggered new landslides and prolonged displacement. A national joint response plan is under way to address food insecurity, health risks and damaged infrastructure.
To support the response, $2.6 million has been allocated from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF).
Disasters supercharged by climate change
UN agencies say the storms reflect a broader shift toward more intense and unpredictable weather across the Asia-Pacific. Cyclone Ditwah tracked unusually far south along Sri Lanka’s coast, while Cyclone Senyar formed near the equator in the Strait of Malacca – a rare occurrence.
The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), in its latest report issued last week, warned that rising temperatures are fundamentally reshaping the region’s risk landscape.
Warmer ocean waters are increasing the potential for extreme rainfall, while rapid urban growth, deforestation and wetland loss are magnifying flood impacts. Even where early warnings were issued, fast-rising waters overwhelmed evacuation routes in some locations.
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