Prabowo to Mark New Year With Sumatra Flood Survivors as Death Toll Tops 1,100

JAKARTA, Investortrust.id — President Prabowo Subianto plans to welcome the New Year on Wednesday, Dec 31, 2025 in Aceh with communities hit by deadly floods and landslides across Sumatra, as official data show more than 1,100 deaths, widespread displacement, and massive damage to homes and public infrastructure.

The visit comes as cumulative disaster data compiled by government monitoring systems recorded 1,141 fatalities, 163 missing persons, and nearly 396,000 evacuees across 52 regencies and cities as of Tuesday, Dec 31, 2025.

Presidential Chief of Staff M Qodari said Prabowo intended to spend New Year’s Eve with affected residents to directly assess recovery efforts and humanitarian needs.

“Mr President will go to Aceh and God willing will spend New Year’s night there with the people of Aceh,” Qodari said after meeting Prabowo at the presidential palace on Tuesday.

Disaster impact was concentrated in Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra, where flooding and landslides followed weeks of extreme rainfall and upstream environmental damage.

In Aceh alone, official dashboards showed 514 deaths, 31 missing persons, and more than 374,000 evacuees spread across 18 regencies and cities.

Housing damage in Aceh reached 133,634 units, including 45,934 homes classified as severely damaged, according to the latest update.

West Sumatra reported 262 fatalities, 72 missing persons, and nearly 10,000 evacuees across 16 regencies, with Agam and Tanah Datar among the worst hit areas.

North Sumatra recorded 365 deaths and more than 11,000 evacuees across 18 regencies, with heavy losses in Tapanuli Tengah, Tapanuli Selatan, and surrounding districts.

Across Sumatra, total damaged housing reached 166,925 units, including more than 53,000 homes with severe structural damage.

Public facilities were also heavily affected, with at least 215 health facilities, 3,188 schools, and 803 houses of worship reported damaged, while dozens of bridges and road sections were cut off.

Prabowo was expected to visit Bener Meriah in Aceh, one of the hardest hit regencies, to review post disaster recovery and reconstruction readiness.

Minister of State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi earlier confirmed the president’s plan, saying the visit reflected Prabowo’s commitment to closely monitor disaster response on the ground.

Prabowo had previously told a cabinet meeting that he planned to visit disaster affected areas at least once a week to ensure rehabilitation and reconstruction moved swiftly.

“I pray our brothers and sisters recover soon, and we are working hard so rehabilitation and reconstruction can begin immediately,” Prabowo said during a cabinet session earlier this month.