News Alert: Mercy Corps Urges Immediate Support for Indonesia as Deadly Floods Devastate Sumatra
Jakarta - Cyclone Senyar has left a trail of destruction in Indonesia across Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra with a rapidly raising toll. Over 500 people have been killed, with many more injured or missing, trapped by raging floods and catastrophic landslides. At least 240,000 have been displaced amidst an increasingly dire humanitarian situation and widespread destruction of infrastructure in an area bigger than the country of Bangladesh.
Mercy Corps’ Indonesia Response Team is working with local partners to deliver immediate support, including hygiene kits, clean water, and cash assistance. The team is urgently determining what people need most in preparation to scale up emergency response and recovery efforts once flood waters subside.
Mercy Corps Indonesia Executive Director, Ade Soekadis, says:
“The devastation we’re seeing unfold in the aftermath of Cyclone Senyar is the largest natural disaster Indonesia has faced since 2018. Critical infrastructure including roads, bridges, and hospitals has been destroyed, leaving families stranded without clean water, food, or shelter.”
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Mercy Corps has worked in Indonesia for over 25 years. Our Indonesian Response Team was established in 2007 and has responded to over 20 disasters, including earthquakes, floods, landslides, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis.
For more information, please contact:
- Kyle DeGraw, Director of Media and Communications for Europe at kdegraw@mercycorps.org
- Our full media team is reachable at allmediarelations@mercycorps.org.