Over 60,000 people have been affected by floods and landslides on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia, over the past few days according to disaster authorities.
The ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre) reports that over 52,000 people were affected by floods in northern parts of Medan City, capital of Indonesia’s North Sumatra province on 30 March 2021.
The flooding mostly affected areas of Medan Belawan sub-district and was blamed on a combination of heavy rain, high tide and blocked drainage channels. Around 12,335 homes were inundated.
Flash floods and landslides were reported in other parts of the island over the last week.
Aceh Province
Parts of Aceh Province on the northwest tip of Sumatra Island saw heavy rain on 27 March 2021. Flooding affected Indra Jaya sub-district of Aceh Jaya Regency damaging 129 homes, displacing 37 people and affecting 258. Parts of West Aceh Regency also saw some flooding on the same day, with 1,215 people affected.
Further flooding was reported in Aceh Jaya Regency on 30 March, this time in Teunom, Darul Hikmah, Setia Bakti and Krueng Sabee sub-districts, affecting 747 people and damaging 296 homes.
North Sumatra and Riau Provinces
Flash flooding struck in Padang Lawas, North Sumatra Province on 27 March, affecting 117 people. Also on 27 March, several rivers broke their banks in Pekanbaru City, Riau Province. At least 470 houses were damaged and 1,895 people affected.
West Sumatra Province
On 28 March the Gambir, Sako and Tapan rivers overflowed, flooding areas of Pesisir Selatan Regency, West Sumatra Province. As many as 3,250 people were affected and 230 houses damaged, along with several schools and agricultural land.
On 29 March heavy rain caused a landslide in South Solok Regency, West Sumatera Province, cutting road access to 2,500 people in Sangir sub-district.
