Jakarta. Online videos showing massive flooding in South Tapanuli (Tapsel) and Central Tapanuli (Tapteng), North Sumatra, and logs being swept downstream has fueled public speculation that deforestation contributed to the deadly disaster. However, the Environment Ministry strongly rejected the claim on Friday, saying the logs seen in the footage were not the result of illegal logging.

The amateur recordings, widely shared across social media platforms, shows torrents of brown water carrying large logs through residential areas. Online users linked the debris to alleged illegal logging in Sumatra’s forests, suggesting it contributed to the severe floods and landslides.

Dwi Januanto Nugroho, Director General of Law Enforcement at the Environment Ministry, dismissed those accusations.

“Most of the logs carried by the flood are old, decayed wood or naturally fallen trees,” Dwi told reporters at the ministry’s office on Friday.

He added that some of the logs originated from legal forest concessions operating under official permits.

“In licensed areas, logs come from naturally grown trees and the felling is conducted in accordance with legal procedures,” he said.

Despite the clarification, the ministry said it is still investigating the origin of all logs swept away by the floods. An ongoing joint law-enforcement operation is also probing potential timber theft to ensure any illegal activity is detected and halted.

Officials urged the public to avoid drawing premature conclusions, stating that early assessments suggest the disaster was primarily driven by natural factors, including days of torrential rain and the region’s vulnerable geological conditions.

President Prabowo Subianto, speaking at the National Teachers’ Day commemoration at Indonesia Arena in Jakarta on Friday afternoon, described the catastrophe as a reminder of the worsening threats posed by climate change.

“The world is full of challenges. We are facing global warming and environmental destruction,” he said.

The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) said on Friday that 116 people have been confirmed dead and 42 remain missing, mostly in North Sumatra,  the province hardest hit by the series of floods, landslides, and storm-related disasters linked to Tropical Cyclone Senyar.

According to the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), Senyar’s formation is a rare event. The Malacca Strait almost never produces cyclones due to its proximity to the equator, where the Coriolis force needed for cyclone rotation is weak. But shifting climate patterns and changing atmospheric dynamics have made such extreme events increasingly possible.

Cyclone Senyar originated as tropical disturbance 95B on Nov. 21 in waters east of Aceh before intensifying and unleashing days of heavy rain, strong winds, and coastal flooding across Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra, triggering landslides, flash floods, and widespread destruction.