Indonesian president pledges recovery in flood-hit regions within 3 months

ISTANBUL

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto on Monday pledged recovery in flood-hit regions in Sumatra within three months, state-run Antara News reported.

During a plenary Cabinet meeting in Jakarta, Prabowo said that the recovery process in the provinces hit by severe floods and landslides might take several months.

"Perhaps the regions will return to normalcy in two or three months," he said, stressing that the government is working hard to restore normalcy in the affected provinces.

He mentioned that most of the roads have been restored in the affected regions and the government will build 2,000 temporary and permanent housing units.

The government has also deployed 1,000 heavy equipment units, including excavators, clean water tanks, portable toilets, and Bailey bridges, the president said.

He added that 60 helicopters and several planes are flying daily to deliver humanitarian aid to the affected provinces.

Indonesia’s National Disaster Mitigation Agency stated that by Monday, the floods and landslides had resulted in 1,030 fatalities, left 206 people missing, and impacted millions in 52 districts and cities across Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra.

The damage in the affected regions includes 186,488 homes, 1,600 public buildings, 219 healthcare facilities, 967 schools, 434 places of worship, and 290 office buildings.

Separately, the death toll from heavy weather in Sri Lanka has risen to 643, with 183 people still missing since Cyclone Ditwah struck on Nov. 17, according to the Disaster Management Center on Monday.