A man searching for belongings on Dec 11, 2025, near homes damaged by flooding in Kuala Simpang, Aceh Tamiang, Aceh. - Antara
JAKARTA: At least 22 villages in Aceh were wiped out and dozens more remain isolated following the devastating impact of Cyclone Senyar, which struck northern parts of Sumatra in late November, according to the latest data from the Aceh administration.
Murthalamuddin, spokesperson for the Aceh Hydrometeorological Disaster Response Post, said Gayo Lues regency was hit hardest, with eight villages, Kuning Kurnia, Tetingi, Seneren, Remukut, Agusen, Pasir, Uyem Beriring and Pungke, completely swept away by floods and landslides.
Aceh Tamiang regency was the second-worst affected, with five villages, Lubuk Sidup, Sekumur, Tanjung Gelumpang, Sulum and Baling Karang, entirely wiped out, Murthalamuddin said.
“In total, 22 villages have disappeared. They were swept away by floods and landslides,” Murthalamuddin told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday. “Some residents were killed, while others were forced to flee to safer areas.”
Meanwhile, Aceh Tengah Communications and Informatics Agency head Mustafa Kamal said that 14,899 people in 30 villages across Aceh remain isolated more than a month after the disaster.
The affected villages are spread across several regencies, including Aceh Tamiang, Bener Meriah, Gayo Lues, North Aceh, East Aceh and Southeast Aceh, he said. “We are relying on air transport to deliver humanitarian aid to these isolated villages, while efforts to reopen roads blocked by landslides and flood debris continue using heavy machinery,” Kamal said.
“The work is progressing gradually. At the height of the disaster, 105 villages were cut off; that number has now been reduced to 30,” he added.
Maimun, a volunteer from Syiah Kuala University in Banda Aceh, described the conditions of survivors in isolated villages as dire. He said he and a group of volunteers recently reached Sekumur village, one of the most remote communities in Aceh Tamiang regency, and found that food and other essential supplies were extremely limited. “We had to travel by boat for four hours to reach the village because the bridge leading to it was completely washed away by the floods,” he said.
Over the past month, villagers survived through collective effort, Maimun said.
The community agreed to withdraw money from the mosque’s savings to buy a few sacks of rice from a neighbouring village that still had supplies, which they then distributed among the survivors.
Sekumur is one of the villages destroyed by Cyclone Senyar.
A total of 283 homes were swept away by a 10-meter-high flash flood when the cyclone struck. Today, nothing remains of the village except a mosque, which still stands amid mud and piles of debris.
Maimun said that when the flash flood struck, villagers fled to nearby hills, where they set up temporary shelters using whatever tarpaulins were available.
“Currently, 74 households from Sekumur are still living on the hill. It has been more than a month. They are afraid to return to the village because of the risk of another flood,” he said.
Tropical Cyclone Senyar made landfall in northern Sumatra on Nov 25, 2025, bringing extreme rainfall and strong winds that triggered widespread flooding and landslides across Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra.
At least 3.1 million people were affected, with 1,178 confirmed deaths, some 7,000 injured and around 148 still missing as of Tuesday, according to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB).
Aceh has been the worst-hit province, accounting for nearly half of the death toll and the majority of evacuees. The disaster affected 18 regencies and cities across the province and damaged more than 100,000 homes.
As of Tuesday, more than 217,780 people remained displaced in Aceh, seeking refuge in 2,174 temporary shelters throughout the province.
Over the past month, extreme weather during the ongoing rainy season has continued to batter the province, triggering new rounds of flooding that have hampered search and rescue efforts and the recovery process.
Read also: Discontent grows in Aceh over flood response On Saturday, heavy rains caused floods in Gayo Lues Regency, damaging six bridges that had survived the impact of Cyclone Senyar.
Local officials said a total of 101 bridges have collapsed and 54 road segments have suffered severe damage in the regency because of floods and landslides, most of which remain unrepaired. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
