Muhammad Aulia Rahman, Jakarta – Indonesia has deployed 1,500 additional police personnel to strengthen disaster response efforts in flood- and landslide-hit areas of Sumatra, as senior officials warn that frontline officers are facing severe physical and psychological fatigue after nearly a month on duty.
Deputy National Police Chief Commissioner General Dedi Prasetyo said officers currently stationed in affected regions have been working continuously since the disasters struck on Nov. 25, calling for immediate reinforcements to ensure sustained post-disaster recovery.
"The level of physical and psychological exhaustion is already very high. Our personnel are extremely fatigued," Dedi said on Friday while leading a send-off ceremony at the National Police headquarters in Jakarta. "We need fresh reinforcements, both from Police Headquarters and from the National Mobile Brigade (Brimob) unit."
Dedi said police leadership is preparing a rotation and reinforcement plan to maintain operational effectiveness in the coming months. He added that the police's operations chief, Commissioner General Fadil Imran, is designing the deployment of additional personnel from several regional police commands between January and February 2026.
He added that residents are still observing Christmas and will soon enter the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. These conditions, he said, require stronger coordination and manpower to ensure recovery efforts run smoothly and meet community needs.
The deployment of 1,500 personnel was carried out at the request of Indonesia's National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB). Of the total, around 600 personnel will be stationed in Aceh Tamiang and North Aceh. The remaining 900 officers come from the Brimob Nusantara unit, drawn from Police Headquarters and regional units across the country.
The send-off ceremony was held simultaneously in Jakarta and several other regions as part of a nationwide consolidation of disaster response efforts. "A total of 1,500 personnel will be deployed by the end of this year," Dedi said.
Meanwhile, BNPB reported that the death toll from floods and landslides across West Sumatra, North Sumatra, and Aceh continues to rise. Abdul Muhari, head of the agency's Data, Information and Disaster Communication Center, said two additional fatalities were recorded, bringing the total death toll to 1,137 as of Friday.
He added that 163 people are still reported missing across the three provinces, as search and rescue operations continue amid challenging terrain and weather conditions.
Source: https://jakartaglobe.id/news/fatigued-police-get-reinforcements-in-sumatra-flood-zone