Jakarta. Indonesia’s disaster agency on Friday raised the death toll from the massive floods and landslides that struck parts of Aceh, West Sumatra, and North Sumatra to 995 people, as search teams continue to recover bodies in remote areas.

The figure marks an increase from 990 deaths reported a day earlier, said Abdul Muhari, spokesman for the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), during an online briefing. “The total number of fatalities across the three provinces now stands at 995,” he said, adding that the number may still change as identification efforts continue.

BNPB also recorded 226 people still missing, up from 222 in the previous report, while the number of displaced residents remains unchanged at 884,889. Evacuees are spread across hundreds of shelters, where conditions vary widely and access to basic supplies remains uneven. Muhari said authorities are prioritizing clean water, ready-to-eat meals, medicine, and emergency healthcare.

He added that the death toll may be revised as local governments verify records using civil registry data. Some bodies initially reported as disaster victims were later found to be remains swept from cemeteries that collapsed in the floods. “After checking population records, several names listed as victims had in fact died before the disaster,” Muhari said.

BNPB expects more accurate numbers in the coming days as districts complete the verification process. “Starting tomorrow, several regencies are likely to submit new data based on civil registry checks,” he said.

The disaster, which began on Nov. 24, followed days of intense rainfall across northern Sumatra. Experts say a combination of extreme weather, environmental degradation, and declining land absorption capacity triggered the deadly floods and landslides.

Muhammad Rais Abdillah, head of the Meteorology Program at the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), said the region was experiencing its peak rainy season, characterized by two annual rainfall spikes. Daily rainfall surpassed 150 millimeters in many locations, with some weather stations recording up to 300 millimeters in 24 hours -- levels comparable to the extreme downpours that inundated Jakarta in 2020.

Atmospheric conditions further intensified the storms. A vortex over Peninsular Malaysia on Nov. 24 developed into Tropical Cyclone Senyar in the Malacca Strait, boosting moisture supply and widening the area of heavy rainfall. Cold-surge vortex activity and mesoscale weather systems also contributed to the formation of high-intensity convective clouds, Rais said.

Environmental damage has amplified the impact, according to geospatial specialists. Heri Andreas, a geodesy and geomatics expert at ITB, said land-use changes across northern Sumatra have sharply reduced the region’s ability to absorb water.

“Flooding is not only about heavy rain. What matters more is how the land receives and channels that water,” he said. Forested areas can absorb large volumes of rainfall, but widespread land conversion -- from forests to settlements and plantations -- has drastically lowered infiltration capacity. Without vegetation, stormwater flows rapidly into rivers, causing sudden surges that lead to flash floods.

Heri added that Indonesia’s flood-hazard maps remain incomplete due to gaps in geospatial data and modeling. Improving risk-based spatial planning, he said, is crucial to preventing similar disasters.

Emergency teams are continuing search, rescue, and relief operations across the affected regions, but access remains challenging in several districts where roads and bridges were destroyed.

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