Legal Literacy – Severe flooding has hit Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra since November 25, 2025, until this writing. Non-stop heavy rain triggered by Tropical Cyclone Senyar has paralyzed access and forced thousands of residents to evacuate.

The 95B cyclone seed, detected by BMKG since November 21 in the eastern waters of Aceh, triggered a massive air mass meeting. As a result, flash floods and landslides hit three provinces at once, leaving behind extraordinary damage.

Casualty Update and Disaster Impact

The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) continues to update data on the handling of this hydrometeorological disaster. In a press conference at Silangit Airport (28/11/2025), Head of BNPB Lt. Gen. TNI Suharyanto said the total temporary victims reached 174 dead, 79 missing, and 12 injured.

Here are the details of the distribution of victims by region:

  • North Sumatra (Worst): Recorded 116 deaths and 42 people missing. Affected areas include North Tapanuli, Central Tapanuli, South Tapanuli, Sibolga, Humbang Hasundutan, Padang Sidempuan, and Pakpak Barat.

  • Aceh: Recorded 35 deaths, 25 missing, and 8 injured. The worst areas are Bener Meriah, Southeast Aceh, and Central Aceh. A total of 4,846 families were displaced.

  • West Sumatra: Recorded 23 deaths, 12 missing, and 4 injured. Evacuation points are spread across 50 locations (South Coast, Padang, Solok, etc.) with a total of 3,900 families.

In addition to casualties, vital infrastructure is completely paralyzed. The Sidempuan–Sibolga national route and the North Sumatra–Aceh border were cut off by landslides. In Aceh, bridge damage in Meureudu hampered logistical connectivity between regencies. In fact, access to Gayo Lues and Central Aceh was completely isolated.

Ecological Disaster: The Result of Massive Forest Damage

This massive flood is not just a natural phenomenon, but an ecological disaster due to poor spatial planning. The Ministry of Forestry highlighted the drastic decrease in forest cover in the Watershed Area (DAS) due to land conversion into Other Use Areas (APL).

DAS damage data is very worrying:

  • Aceh: The proportion of APL reaches 100% in the Krueng Geukeuh watershed, 81% in the Krueng Pasee watershed, and 59% in the Krueng Keureto watershed.

  • North Sumatra: The Aek Pandan watershed has 85% changed into APL. The Badiri and Sibuluan watersheds are even dominated by APL to almost 90%.

  • West Sumatra: The Anai watershed and surrounding areas have experienced land conversion between 45% and 98%.

The Indonesian Green Union asserts that this is a "disaster harvest" from the uncontrolled expansion of extractive industries (palm oil, mining, hydropower) since the 1990s.

The Polemic of Disaster Status and "Java-Centric" Response

In the midst of the crisis, a polemic emerged regarding the status of the disaster. The central government insists on maintaining the status as regional disaster, not a national disaster.

The Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture (PMK), Pratikno, and the Head of BNPB argued that the local government is still capable of handling the situation and the determination of a national disaster has very limited precedents in Law No. 24 of 2007.

However, this argument has drawn sharp criticism:

  1. Late Response: Instructions for major assistance from the new President came down on November 28, even though the disaster started on the 25th.

  2. Paralyzed Regional Capacity: The facts on the ground show that many areas are isolated and communication is cut off, which indicates the inability of the regions to handle the impact independently.

  3. Media Bias: The lack of national television coverage compared to if the disaster occurred on the island of Java reinforces the perception of unequal attention.

Constitutional Review: The State Potentially Violates Citizens' Rights

This unequal response raises serious questions regarding the state's constitutional obligations. The slow and low-profile handling in Sumatra potentially violates the principle non-discrimination (Article 27 paragraph 1 of the 1945 Constitution).

The state also risks fulfilling citizens' rights to a safe environment (Article 28H paragraph 1) and the obligation to provide equal public services (Article 34 paragraph 3). If the pattern of treating regions outside Java as "stepchildren" continues, the state has neglected the constitutional rights of its own citizens.

This tragedy must be a turning point. The central government must ensure that every life from Aceh to Papua is as valuable as a life in Java. Without improving environmental governance and equality of treatment, we are only waiting for a similar tragedy to repeat itself.