Deaths in Indonesia’s flood-hit Sumatra rise to 174 – ‘we’ve lost everything’
Tens of thousands of people have been displaced in North Sumatra and Aceh, while hundreds are missing
Villagers and residential areas were swept away or buried by mudslides, affecting more than 2,000 homes in North Sumatra, according to Indonesia’s Disaster Management Agency.
Some 5,000 people across the province had taken refuge in government shelters, the agency added.
In the city of Medan, the provincial capital of North Sumatra, floodwaters began to rise in the early hours of Thursday morning, bringing the city to a standstill and destroying homes and businesses.
Standing outside the remains of his home in Medan’s Helvetia district, 18-year-old student Ferdika told This Week in Asia that his family was woken around 4am (5am Hong Kong time) on Thursday as water surged into their bedrooms.
“I grabbed my two younger brothers, who are 6 and 9, and we all rushed outside,” he said. “I went back to try and get some clothes and other possessions, but within an hour, the water had risen to my neck.”