January 2, 2026 | 07:59 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia's National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) reported no new casualties at the site of the Sumatra disaster on Friday, January 2, 2026, as ongoing search efforts have yet to uncover additional fatalities.
The death toll across the three affected provinces—Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra—remains at 1,157.
“According to the latest casualty data, there are no additional deaths as of today,” said Abdul Muhari, head of BNPB’s Data, Information, and Disaster Communication Center, during a virtual press briefing on Friday.
Muhari added that joint search and rescue (SAR) teams will continue operations, focusing on areas identified as potential locations of missing victims. Currently, 165 people remain unaccounted for.
Meanwhile, the number of displaced residents has fallen. “The number of evacuees has decreased by 73, bringing the total to 380,287 individuals,” Muhari said.
The floods and landslides, which claimed over 1,100 lives, were triggered by Tropical Cyclone Senyar in November 2025 when it made landfall on Sumatra, Indonesia’s westernmost island. Recovery efforts are ongoing in the affected areas.
Despite the disaster’s scale, the government has not declared it a national disaster. President Prabowo Subianto emphasized that the government remains committed to managing the floods and landslides in Sumatra, even without the national disaster designation.
“Some are still asking why this hasn’t been declared a national disaster,” Prabowo said during a disaster management meeting in Aceh on Thursday, January 1, 2026, as broadcast by the Presidential Secretariat.
He explained that the decision reflects the nationwide scope of Indonesia’s governance. “We have 38 provinces, and this event affects only three. The remaining 35 provinces are not impacted,” he said.
Prabowo added that the affected provinces are capable of handling the disaster locally. “For now, these three provinces, together with the national government, can manage the situation, so there is no need to declare a national disaster,” he said.
Read: Prabowo Explains Lack of Media interviews: "I Believe in Evidence-Based Results"
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