Deadly Sumatra flooding triggers memories of Indian Ocean tsunami

Local leaders have called for the government to give the disaster which killed over 800 a national emergency status

A truck is stranded in the river at an area hit by deadly flash floods following heavy rains in Padang, West Sumatra province, Indonesia, Nov 30, 2025. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan

For fisherman Effendi Basyaruddin, the deadly floods and landslides in Indonesia's Aceh province over the past week have triggered traumatic memories of the day 21 years ago when he ran for his life as the ocean rose like a cliff face and smashed through his hometown.

Nearly 200,000 people died in Aceh alone after a 9.1-magnitude quake off the northern province triggered the catastrophicIndian Ocean tsunami on December 26, 2004.

"I saw the highest wave during the tsunami, about 20 metres high," Effendi told Reuters. "But the flooding was greater ... villages became a river."

Those memories have been revived for the64-year-old after cyclone-induced floods and landslides bore down on three provinces on Sumatra island. More than 800 people have died in Indonesia as a result, including more than 200 in Aceh, and the storm systems have also killed about 200 people in Thailand and Malaysia.

"We were very traumatised," said Effendi, whose house was swept away. He is now living in a tent near the ocean, which he sees as both a friend and a foe.

Effendi is not alone in his suffering and problems reaching isolated villages and getting aid to those in need have added to residents' pain.

"Aceh right now is like experiencing a second tsunami," a tearful Governor Muzakir Manaf said.

CALLS FOR MORE GOVERNMENT HELP

With whirring excavators and people rummaging through pools of mud and ruins where their homes once stood in Aceh Tamiang, 45-year-old Adi Hermawan said people need clean water and food.

"The settlement was completely destroyed, as if hit by a tsunami," he said. "The difference is that the victims may not have been found yet and are more difficult to locate."

Local leaders across Aceh have called for the government to give the disaster a national emergency status to free up additional funds for rescue and relief efforts.

"I could not ... the amount of victims is extraordinary. People's houses are gone. There is no attention from the central government," said a tearful Ismail A. Jalil, the leader of North Aceh, in a video seen on local news outlet Narasi.

This week, the central government said it always supports local governments, adding that the 500 billion rupiah ($30 million) budget set aside for disaster relief was sufficient and could be increased if needed.

President Prabowo Subianto, when asked earlier this week about declaring a national emergency, said the situation was improving and current arrangements were sufficient.

($1 = 16,640 rupiah)