by Stefan Bos, Chief International Worthy News Correspondent
MEDAN, INDONESIA (Worthy News) – Authorities said Tuesday that at least 52 people were killed by flash floods and mudslides in Indonesia’s West Sumatra province, and more than 3,000 people have been evacuated.
The death toll was due to rise, with heavy rains expected until next week. Christians told Worthy News there has also been heavy flooding in Medan, a regional hub and the capital of neighboring North Sumatra province.
Witnesses said that residents in Medan’s Belawan district were seen struggling against tidal floods. Worthy News learned that authorities warned that the water could rise to 2.7 meters (8.9 feet) in some parts of Medan.
Back in West Sumatra, torrential rain triggered flash floods, landslides, and cold lava flows—a mud-like mixture of volcanic ash, rock debris, and water—in three districts in the province.
Witnesses said the cold lava flow, known in Indonesia as a lahar, came from Mount Marapi, one of Sumatra’s most active volcanoes.
More than 20 people were killed when Marapi erupted in December. A series of eruptions have followed since.
Of the 52 dead, more than 45 have been identified, West Sumatra disaster agency spokesman Ilham Wahab said. Local rescuers, police, and military said they will continue searching for 17 people who are still missing.
THOUSANDS EVACUATED
The head of the National Disaster and Management Agency BNPB, Suharyanto, said in a statement that 3,396 people were evacuated to nearby buildings as of Tuesday. BNPB has distributed tents, blankets, food, hygiene kits, portable toilets, and water purifiers, said Suharyanto, who uses a single name like many Indonesians.
Heavy rains in West Sumatra province are still expected until next week, said Dwikorita Karnawati, the head of Indonesia’s meteorology agency, BMKG. “This means that we need to be alert about the potential flash floods and landslides at least until May 17-22,” she said.
It came as horrific News for residents in areas where roads in the districts were turned into rivers, with mosques and houses damaged.
The National Disaster Mitigation Agency, or BNPB, said 84 homes, 16 bridges, and two mosques were damaged in Tanah Datar, as were 20 hectares (50 acres) of rice fields.
Survivors recounted their horror when the flooding and rockfall began. “I heard the thunder and the sound similar to boiling water. It was the sound of big rocks falling,” housewife Rina Devina told reporters, adding that three of her neighbors were killed.
“It was pitch black, so I used my cellphone as a flashlight. The road was muddy, so I chanted ‘God, have mercy!’ over and over again,” she said in remarks shared by French news agency AFP about her evacuation to a local official’s office.
Indonesia is prone to landslides and floods during the rainy season. In 2022, about 24,000 people were evacuated, and two children were killed in floods on Sumatra island, with environmental campaigners blaming deforestation caused by logging for worsening the disaster.
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel have delivered a trove of documents to Congress detailing donation patterns to the Clinton Foundation from foreign and domestic entities, reigniting scrutiny over whether critical evidence was withheld from federal investigators who sought to examine pay-to-play allegations a decade ago.
A war of words erupted between Turkey and Israel this week as plans advanced for an International Stabilization Force (ISF) in Gaza under President Donald Trump’s U.S.-brokered peace plan — a force intended to oversee the fragile ceasefire, disarm Hamas, and restore stability to the war-torn enclave.
President Donald Trump on Monday issued a stark warning to the U.S. Supreme Court, saying the justices have been given “the wrong numbers” in a pending case that challenges his authority to impose tariffs under emergency powers — a decision he warned could trigger a $3 trillion economic collapse and endanger America’s national security.
After a grueling overnight session stretching into the early hours of Tuesday morning, the House Rules Committee voted 8–4 along party lines to advance a bill aimed at ending the longest government shutdown in U.S. history — now entering its 42nd day. The measure, supported by all Republicans on the panel, moves next to the full House for a vote Wednesday, where GOP leaders are confident it will pass.
French President Emmanuel Macron announced Tuesday that France will assist the Palestinian Authority (PA) in drafting a constitution for a future Palestinian state, following a meeting with PA President Mahmoud Abbas at the Élysée Palace. The move comes as part of France’s broader push to promote a two-state solution after recognizing a Palestinian state at the United Nations in September.
Venezuela has launched a massive two-day military mobilization involving nearly 200,000 troops as the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, arrived in Latin American waters Tuesday, significantly escalating regional military tensions.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he was “deeply saddened” after a Turkish military cargo plane carrying 20 personnel crashed Tuesday in Georgia, near the border with Azerbaijan, and officials feared there were no survivors.