Dede Leni Mardianti, Jakarta – The Chair of the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI), Jusuf Kalla, predicts that the cost of post-flood recovery in the Sumatra region will exceed Rp60 billion. He calculates that the funds are needed to provide for the basic needs of the affected communities for the next year.
"Each region needs at least Rp20 billion to provide clean water, necessities, and so on," said the man, familiarly called JK, during an inspection of aid supplies at the Sumatra disaster logistics center at Halim Perdana Kusuma Air Force Base, Jakarta, on Monday, December 1, 2025.
JK emphasizes that the work of recovery is equally challenging as the series of flood disaster mitigation. During this phase, he stated that the government should at least provide for the basic needs of the communities for the next year. The government also needs to ensure that it regains decent housing or shelter. "How many people are affected? How many people are homeless, maybe in the millions. It has to be provided," he said.
Therefore, this former Vice President said that the Indonesian Red Cross will conduct a year-long recovery operation. This operation includes providing clean water and accompanying the restoration of community health. PMI, he said, will send 200 water tanks and 10 water purifiers to be placed at various points in the three affected provinces.
Jusuf mentioned that at the moment, all water channels in the three regions have suffered severe damage, causing a clean water crisis among the communities. "So the pipelines are definitely destroyed, and an instant solution is needed for this situation. People cannot live without water. So we will mobilize all available tankers here."
Meanwhile, Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra were devastated by floods and landslides since November 25, 2025. This event resulted in several road accesses to some districts or cities being cut off. The electricity and communication networks in several areas were also temporarily paralyzed.
According to the National Disaster Management Agency's report on its official website as of November 30, the total number of affected residents from this disaster reached 1.1 million. The details are 442 people dead, 402 missing, 646 injured, and 290,000 people displaced.
In addition, the agency also recorded 827 severely damaged houses, 694 moderately damaged houses, and 1,300 slightly damaged houses. A total of 133 bridges were damaged, and an additional 43 public facilities were destroyed.