Dani Aswara, Jakarta – The distribution of aid for flood and landslide victims in Sumatra has come under scrutiny. A video circulating on social media, uploaded by the Instagram account @bkmedan_, depicts the chaotic state of relief supplies. The location in the video is narrated to be in Tapanuli, North Sumatra.
The footage shows torn sacks of rice and scattered instant noodles, while several residents can be seen collecting and scavenging the spilled rice. "It's of no use. Sir, look at this rice. It's dropped from a plane," exclaimed a man in a yellow shirt in the video, quoted on Wednesday, December 3, 2025.
The account narrated that the helicopter delivering aid did not land, but instead dropped the supplies from a certain altitude. "Instead of landing to provide assistance to the people, the government chose to drop relief supplies from a helicopter that was still flying in the air. As a result, the people had to scavenge the rice from the ground," the account wrote.
Chief of Information of the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI), Major General TNI Freddy Ardianzah, responded to the circulating video of the aid by stating that the TNI always responds to every public complaint. He emphasized that in the distribution of aid, including the use of helicopters, the TNI prioritizes safety procedures.
Freddy stated that the logistics drop technique will continue to be evaluated to be more effective, safe, and targeted, both in terms of the release method and the security of the aid packaging. "This is important to ensure that the aid truly reaches the people in need without posing additional risks," he stated when confirmed on Wednesday, December 3, 2025.
Prior to this, Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin deployed the airdrop method to expedite the distribution of aid for flood and landslide victims in isolated areas. This decision was made after he surveyed the affected areas in Pidie Jaya Regency on Saturday, November 29, 2025.
According to Sjafrie, the situation on the ground indicated that many refugees were having difficulty obtaining assistance due to the severed road access and bridges to the affected locations. Airdrop is one of the methods to deliver aid by dropping it from planes to the civilians.
"To expedite the delivery, the TNI Commander will drop supplies from the air, received by the soldiers and immediately distributed to the refugees. So, the officers will transport the aid directly to the location," Sjafrie stated in a video released by the Defense Information Bureau on Saturday, November 29, 2025.
Previously, the TNI had implemented this method, such as two transport aircraft – C-130J Super Hercules 1340 and CN-295 A-2904 – carrying out logistic airdrop missions to several points in Kualasimpang, Aceh Tamiang, on Tuesday, December 2, 2025.
The C-130J dropped a total of 2.5 tons of relief packages through 20 bundles. Meanwhile, the CN-295 released 90 heliboxes containing basic necessities and emergency supplies in three airdrop sessions with a total load of 450 kilograms. "The airdrop technique is used because most of the land access is still severed due to the high water levels and terrain conditions," stated the official release from the TNI Information Center on Tuesday.