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 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
The Trump administration has finalized a sweeping reciprocal trade agreement with Taiwan, confirming a 15 percent U.S. tariff rate on Taiwanese imports while securing broad new market access and purchase commitments for American goods.
Democrats are applauding White House border czar Tom Homan’s Thursday announcement that immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota will end next week.
Democrats in the U.S. Senate tanked the Homeland Security full-year funding bill in a last-ditch vote Thursday, all but guaranteeing a partial government shutdown starting Saturday.
Mourners in a remote Canadian town grappled Thursday with the aftermath of one of the country’s deadliest school shootings in decades, as families, survivors and leaders reacted to the tragedy that left eight victims — most of them children — dead, along with the 18-year-old suspect.
A gunman who opened fire at a school in southern Thailand’s Hat Yai city on Wednesday wounded a teacher and a student before being detained, authorities said, in a rare attack that sent students and staff into panic.
The Republican-led House of Representatives has passed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act, advancing legislation that would require proof of citizenship to register to vote and photo identification at the polls. The bill now heads to the Senate, where its future remains uncertain amid strong Democratic opposition.
Israel’s Ministry of Defense announced on Wednesday that its advanced David’s Sling air and missile defense system has completed a series of complex modernized tests, a development officials say bolsters the country’s defensive posture as tensions with Iran escalate and the United States prepares military options that could include direct strikes.