Jakarta. Floods and landslides that struck parts of Indonesia’s Sumatra island in late November have destroyed or severely damaged 22 villages, with the heaviest impact concentrated in Aceh province, the government said on Monday.

Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian said official data showed that 13 villages in Aceh, eight in North Sumatra and one in West Sumatra were either heavily damaged or completely lost due to the disasters.

“Our data show that a total of 22 villages have been completely lost,” Tito told a press conference at the integrated command post at Halim Perdanakusuma Air Force Base in East Jakarta.

The disasters have also disrupted local governance, with 1,580 village offices across the three provinces affected, preventing normal administrative services. Of that total, 1,455 damaged village offices were recorded in Aceh, compared with 93 in North Sumatra and 32 in West Sumatra, underscoring the scale of the impact in Aceh.

“The largest number of damaged village offices is in Aceh, particularly in North Aceh and Aceh Tamiang,” Tito said.

To speed up recovery, the Home Affairs Ministry will take a direct role in post-disaster rehabilitation efforts, especially in Aceh. The ministry plans to deploy 1,054 personnel from the Institute of Public Administration (IPDN), including cadets and civil servants, to assist affected areas.

The deployment is scheduled to begin on Jan. 3, 2026, and will last for one month. The personnel will be stationed in the worst-hit districts, Aceh Tamiang and North Aceh, to help restore village administration and public services.

Officials said the additional manpower is expected to complement the efforts of the military, police and other agencies, while helping restart village-level governance so communities can regain access to essential services.

The human toll from the Sumatra floods continues to rise. According to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), as of Dec. 29, the death toll had reached 1,140, with 163 people still missing across several provinces on the island.

Beyond casualties, the floods have caused widespread damage to public infrastructure. Authorities recorded damage to 3,188 educational facilities, 806 houses of worship, 215 health facilities, 99 road sections and 97 bridges across affected areas.

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