Business Rallies to Support Government Relief in Flood Hit Sumatra
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JAKARTA, Investortrust.id — Sharia lender PT Bank Syariah Indonesia Tbk or BRIS, mortgage bank PT Bank Tabungan Negara Tbk or BBTN and telecom operator PT Telkom Indonesia Tbk or TLKM have mobilized emergency aid on Sunday, Nov 30, 2025 across Sumatra to support government rescue efforts after deadly floods and landslides. Their convoys of food, fuel and satellite links are expected to speed up the restoration of basic services for communities cut off in Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra.
The National Disaster Management Agency, known as BNPB, reported that 442 people had died and 402 were missing as of Sunday night, with North Sumatra suffering the heaviest losses. Entire villages had been buried by landslides while roads, bridges and power lines had been torn apart, complicating the movement of heavy equipment and relief convoys.
PT Bank Syariah Indonesia Tbk (BRIS) distributed 15 tons of logistics in several waves to 17 badly hit cities and regencies in Aceh, working with the Aceh Disaster Management Agency and the provincial government. The packages included rubber boats, basic food, milk, medicines and satellite based communication tools such as Starlink units and satellite phones to keep command posts online.
BSI Chief Executive Officer Anggoro Eko Cahyo said the disaster had disrupted both local livelihoods and banking operations. "This disaster has not only affected surrounding communities, but also the banking services at several of our branch units," he said in a written statement on Sunday.
Anggoro explained that 66 branches in Aceh and neighboring North Sumatra had stopped operating because access roads and critical infrastructure were damaged. He added that some automated teller machines had already come back online while flooded branches were being cleaned so that they could resume serving cash withdrawals and transfers as demand typically rose toward the end of the month.
"BSI volunteers who depart will serve as the bank's representatives in the field, delivering aid, accompanying employees and customers, and bringing hope to people who are going through the most difficult period in their lives," Anggoro said. "BSI understands that toward the end of the month, the public's need for financial transactions increases, especially in a disaster situation like this, so branch service recovery is being pushed as quickly as possible," he added.
PT Bank Tabungan Negara (Persero) Tbk (BBTN) also sent teams directly to flooded neighborhoods in Padang, West Sumatra, combining support for the wider public with targeted help for its own workers. The bank channeled more than Rp 2 billion in aid to Padang alone and extended its BTN Peduli, or BTN Cares, program to other affected cities including Sibolga, Medan and Aceh.
BTN Commercial Banking Director Hermita said the bank wanted to show empathy on the ground rather than only through transfers. "BTN is not only present as a banking institution, but also as part of the community. We hope this assistance can help meet the basic needs of victims and support their daily activities," she said during a relief visit in Padang on Sunday.
Corporate Secretary BTN Ramon Armando stressed that partnerships with Andalas University, Padang State University and regional governments were crucial to make sure food, medicine and other supplies reached those who needed them most. "Universities and local governments are two major institutions in Padang that have strong networks and direct access to residents. Therefore we hope the distribution of aid will be faster and more effective, especially under emergency conditions," Ramon said, adding that visits to affected staff, including outsourced workers, were meant to give moral support in the aftermath of the floods.
In the energy sector, regulators and Pertamina subsidiaries worked to keep fuel flowing to emergency vehicles and stranded communities despite broken roads and landslides. The Downstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Agency, or BPH Migas, coordinated with PT Pertamina Patra Niaga and transporter Elnusa Petrofin to run a Regular, Alternative and Emergency distribution scheme for gasoline and diesel in flooded parts of Aceh.
Committee member Fathul Nugroho said 12 tank trucks had carried 288 kiloliters of fuel to 13 petrol stations in Pidie, Pidie Jaya and Bireun on Saturday, with six more trucks dispatched on Sunday as waters receded and alternative routes opened. "All parties are working shoulder to shoulder to smooth the delivery of fuel for our brothers and sisters affected by the disaster," he said, noting that stocks at six fuel terminals in Aceh remained at safe levels even as deliveries to isolated areas required creative routing.
Pertamina Patra Niaga, which oversees fuel and LPG distribution, reported that 655 of 709 filling stations under its North Sumatra regional unit had stayed open by shifting supplies, using smaller vehicles on damaged roads and tapping floating stocks from tankers offshore. Corporate Secretary Pertamina Patra Niaga Roberth MV Dumatubun said the company had activated emergency teams as soon as extreme weather warnings were issued and was continuously adjusting supply patterns based on field reports.
"Despite many main routes being cut off by floods and landslides, our teams kept moving to find alternative routes so that distribution did not stop," Roberth said, adding that LPG deliveries through filling plants and agents had also been hampered but were gradually recovering as new access routes opened.
Upstream player PT Pertamina Hulu Energi (PHE) focused on flying basic goods into the disaster zone using the national air force's Hercules transport aircraft from Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in Jakarta. Through its closest operating areas, the company prepared parcels containing rice, sugar, instant noodles, cooking oil, eggs, canned fish, baby food, mineral water, tea, biscuits, soy sauce and condensed milk, along with prayer equipment, sanitary pads, baby diapers, blankets and eucalyptus oil.
Corporate Secretary Subholding Upstream Pertamina Hermansyah Y Nasroen said the initiative formed part of a broader humanitarian operation managed by a Christmas and New Year task force active since mid November. "Safety and humanity have always been our priority. Subholding Upstream Pertamina has tried to be present as quickly as possible to support the fulfillment of basic needs for the community and to help speed up post disaster recovery," he said.
Hermansyah underlined that PHE stood ready to increase its support in line with requests from local governments and disaster agencies. He said his team worked closely with regional disaster management offices and security forces to track changing logistical needs at each location, especially where infrastructure damage was most severe.
Outside the state enterprise sector, faith based charity Dompet Dhuafa channelled donations from American residents to flood survivors in South Tapanuli, North Sumatra. The organization delivered basic food, bottled water, hygiene kits, clothing and blankets to around 1,000 people while its disaster management arm ran warm meal posts along key evacuation routes.
"Thank God, we have distributed aid to areas that were badly affected by the disaster. The distribution in South Tapanuli targeted 1,000 beneficiaries," said Waspada branch head Sulaiman in a text message, adding that food, water and hygiene items remained the most urgent needs as night time temperatures fell.
He said Dompet Dhuafa Waspada teams had been supporting the evacuation of 90 bodies and sending cooked food to hard to reach clusters of survivors and shelters, benefiting a total of 3,334 people. At the Tanjungpura Hinai border in Langkat district, the charity set up a warm post and handed out ready to eat meals to 370 people sheltering along the Medan Banda Aceh highway.
The government also leveraged its new nutrition program to bolster relief capacity. The National Nutrition Agency, or BGN, shifted 526,000 portions from its free nutritious meal scheme for schoolchildren to feed families displaced by the floods in North Sumatra, West Sumatra and Aceh, after classes were suspended in many locations.
Deputy Speaker of the House Commission IX Nihayatul Wafiroh welcomed the move as a timely way to keep the program running while redirecting it to an urgent need. "This decision by BGN is exactly right. Of course I appreciate it because when children are off school, the nutritious meal program continues and is redirected to flood victims, many of whom are also school children," she said, while urging field kitchens to maintain hygiene, food safety and precise targeting under disaster conditions.
In parallel, digital infrastructure became a critical lifeline. TelkomGroup, via PT Telkom Indonesia (Persero) Tbk and satellite subsidiary PT Telkom Satelit Indonesia, deployed Mangostar satellite terminals to six disaster posts and expanded the use of satellite backup and IP radio links to reconnect damaged network nodes in Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra.
EVP Telkom Regional 1 Sumatra Dwi Pratomo Juniarto said the rough terrain and unstable weather had slowed repairs to fiber optic links and local exchanges, making space based connectivity essential for officials, volunteers and evacuees. TelkomGroup also opened free WiFi hotspots at seven regional offices and central offices, and prepared food packages as part of its social aid program.
On the government side, the newly formed Ministry of Communication and Digital, or Kemenkomdigi, installed ten SATRIA 1 satellite internet points at airports, command centers, city halls and remote villages to support search and rescue teams, BNPB staff and affected residents. Minister Meutya Viada Hafid said the high throughput satellite, originally designed to serve remote and frontier regions, had been repurposed as an emergency backbone while terrestrial networks were down.
"When communication networks are cut off, SATRIA 1 appears as a savior. In this way, residents can be reconnected even when connectivity infrastructure is damaged by a disaster," Meutya said, urging the public to follow official instructions during the emergency and use the satellite links to access verified information.
Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Pratikno said the central government was pulling together all national resources to manage the hydrometeorological disaster, from BNPB and local administrations to ministers and the armed forces. Speaking from Raja Sisingamangaraja XII Airport in North Tapanuli after visiting several badly hit districts, he said immediate priorities included restoring electricity, fuel, logistics and transport links by land, sea and air, while planning simultaneously for temporary and permanent housing.
"The government is working hard, with every level of the administration, and we ask for the public's understanding. There are many obstacles in the field, for example mobilizing heavy equipment is not easy in certain locations, but we will keep trying continuously," he said, adding that faster rehabilitation and reconstruction would help communities bounce back stronger.