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The massive Senyar cyclone that hit Indonesia in November brought heavy rains and caused devastating floods and landslides that displaced an estimated 3.3 million people and resulted in more than 1,030 deaths. Similar extreme weather has struck several countries in South and Southeast Asia, including Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines.
“I lost my husband, and our house is damaged and filled with mud,” says Siti Basmallah, of Babo village in Aceh Tamiang Regency.
“I saw the flood reach 15 meters [50 feet] above our houses,” Siti says. “Villages turned into rivers and homes were destroyed.”
Photo: Garry Lotulung
The damage has made it difficult for response teams to reach villages and deliver aid, worsening suffering.
Amid views of damaged homes and debris in Aceh Tamiang, Syahrial Umar says the community urgently needs clean water and food.
“Our settlement was destroyed, as if by a tsunami,” he says. “Many victims remain missing.”
Photo: Garry Lotulung
Logs, swept along by deadly flash floods, became destructive battering rams as waters carried them into communities.
“I saw many logs carried away by the flood,” Syahrial says. “They came from upstream, likely due to logging.”
Photo: Garry Lotulung
This destruction, extreme weather, and heavy and unpredictable rainfall are signs that the impacts of the climate crisis are real, says experts. Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency classified the Senyar cyclone an unusual phenomenon.
Widespread deforestation has made the effects of climate change worse in Indonesia. According to a Greenpeace report , based on data from the Ministry of Forestry for the period 1990-2024, many natural forests in North Sumatra Province have been converted to crop plantations, tree plantations, and dryland agriculture. A similar situation is also occurring in Aceh and West Sumatra. Land conversion is also taking place in watershed areas.
People lined up for food aid. Photo: Garry Lotulung
Sapta Ananda Proklamasi, senior researcher of the Greenpeace Indonesia Forest Campaign Team, says most Sumatra watersheds are in critical condition, with natural forests covering less than 25% of their original range.
“Now only 10 to 14 million hectares [54,000 square miles] of natural forest remain in Sumatra — less than 30% of the island’s 47 million hectares,” he says.
Flooding knocked down healthy trees. Photo: Garry Lotulung
The decrease in forest cover must be taken seriously, as it changes the environment’s carrying capacity and resilience.
He adds that a thorough investigation is needed into the large number of small and large pieces of wood swept away by the floods in Sumatra.
“It could be from old or new logging, or incomplete land clearing,” Sapta says.
Arie Rompas, chair of the Greenpeace Indonesia Forest Campaign Team, echoed these concerns, saying the increasingly severe climate crisis, coupled with damaged forests and declining environmental carrying capacity, will further hurt the community. The government must also acknowledge that forest and land management have been conducted improperly.
Photo: Garry Lotulung
“As a result, the forests of Sumatra are nearly depleted, severe environmental degradation has occurred, and now the people of Sumatra must bear the high cost of this ecological disaster,” says Arie.
Nearly two months after the disaster, millions of people across Sumatra remain displaced. Floods have damaged roads and bridges, cut off villages, and left widespread mud, debris, and power outages.
Zul, of Lintang Bawah City, Aceh Tamiang, says floods there rose up to 15 feet. The city was among the worst hit by the flash flood.
“My family is just surviving on whatever we have,” he says. “We only have the clothes we’re wearing and [did not eat] for three days during the flash floods; we’re just collecting rainwater to drink.”
Photo: Garry Lotulung
Local leaders across Aceh are urgently calling on the government to declare a national emergency to enable the swift allocation of additional funds for rescue and relief efforts.
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