uffering through days without clean water or proper medical care, evacuees packed into emergency shelters across three provinces in the northern part of Sumatra are falling severely ill, with some reportedly dying before help can reach them, as the region’s floods and landslides continue to isolate entire communities.
Indonesia continues to reel from the hydrometeorological disaster that first struck Aceh, West Sumatra and North Sumatra two weeks ago, with 964 confirmed deaths, at least 262 missing, more than 5,000 injured, over 152,000 houses destroyed and around 1,200 public facilities damaged across 52 regencies.
The number of evacuees now stands at around 800,000.
As of Tuesday, both the central government and regional administrations were still struggling to deliver food, medical supplies and clean water to areas cut off by collapsed bridges, blocked roads and damaged infrastructure.Â
Although airdrops have continued, the joint search and rescue task force has yet to reach thousands of isolated residents.Â
Read also: Calls grow for Indonesia to accept foreign disaster aid
Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning.
Delivered straight to your inbox three times weekly, this curated briefing provides a concise overview of the day’s most important issues, covering a wide range of topics from politics to culture and society.
for signing up our newsletter!
Please check your email for your newsletter subscription.
The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) reported on Sunday that more than 500 villages in Bener Meriah and North Aceh regencies remained inaccessible in Aceh, while two regencies in both North Sumatra and West Sumatra were also isolated.Â