Aceh/W. Sumatra/N. Sumatra. The death toll from the devastating floods and landslides that struck Sumatra in late November has risen to 604, with 464 people still missing and more than 570,000 displaced, according to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) on Monday.

The disasters — triggered by Cyclone Senyar, which unleashed flash floods, landslides, strong winds, and widespread damage between Nov. 19 and 28 — have severely disrupted access, communications, and logistics across North Sumatra, West Sumatra, and Aceh.

BNPB Chief Suharyanto said key transport routes in North Sumatra remain cut off, particularly in South Tapanuli, Central Tapanuli, and Sibolga, where heavy damage has slowed recovery efforts.

“The main route from North Tapanuli to Sibolga is still severed despite the use of heavy machinery since day one,” Suharyanto said in a broadcast aired on Beritasatu TV, Monday. Connections from North Tapanuli to Central Tapanuli and from South Tapanuli to Central Tapanuli also remain inaccessible, though the Sibolga–Central Tapanuli route has been restored.

Communication networks, he added, are partially functioning. North Tapanuli has largely recovered, but several villages in South Tapanuli still rely on emergency Starlink terminals. Central Tapanuli continues to experience major disruptions, while Sibolga’s network has mostly stabilized.

Access to electricity and clean water also remains unreliable. Parts of North and South Tapanuli have been reconnected, Suharyanto said, but Central Tapanuli still relies on generators. Sibolga’s power supply was restored but faced renewed outages on Monday.

Despite the challenges, logistics distribution has resumed via land, sea, and air. Supplies have reached Sibolga by sea, and authorities have contained incidents of looting reported in recent days. The government has dispatched 500 tons of emergency rice to avert shortages in two of North Sumatra’s hardest-hit districts.

To speed up recovery, the Public Works Ministry (PU) has deployed 56 excavators since Nov. 30, with an additional 12 en route to severely affected areas in Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra. Public Works Minister Dody Hanggodo said efforts are being coordinated across multiple river basin authorities and local governments.

Ten excavators have focused on clearing the Tarutung–Sibolga national highway, which was blocked by landslides. “Over the past two days, 30 kilometers of the 60-kilometer stretch have been reopened,” Dody said. Crews have also reinforced riverbanks using hundreds of geobags and steel wire gabions.

“Twenty-six landslide points have been cleared, and access to Sibalanga village — previously cut off — is now reachable by four-wheel vehicles,” he added.

BNPB has also expanded its logistics hubs at Halim Airport in Jakarta and regional airports in Silangit, Pinangsori, and Banda Aceh. The agency is preparing additional distribution routes to Aceh’s interior districts, where landslides are too extensive for ground or helicopter landings.

In Aceh, logistics are being partially delivered by air drops, owing to difficult terrain. Private airline Susi Air has offered additional aircraft to support emergency transport.

Search and rescue operations led by Basarnas continue, with new victims still being recovered daily.

The late-November disaster underscores the region’s growing vulnerability to climate-driven hydrometeorological events. Indonesia recorded 2,726 such disasters between January and November this year alone.

Hatma Suryatmojo, a forest hydrology and watershed management expert at Gadjah Mada University, said the catastrophe was the result of long-standing upstream ecological damage combined with extreme rainfall.

“Extreme weather may trigger it, but the destructive force of these floods cannot be separated from the severe degradation of upstream ecosystems,” he said.

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