Flood-hit Indonesian regions run low on fuel, funds for relief effort

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JAKARTA, Dec 3 (Reuters) – Authorities battling floods on Indonesia’s island of Sumatra that killed about 800 people this week have appealed for more central government help to tackle shortages of funds, food and fuel in relief efforts.

Cyclone-induced floods and landslides have left 463 missing across the three provinces of West Sumatra, North Sumatra and Aceh, according to revised government figures, while local officials said severed power and road links were blocking access to aid.

In East Aceh, fuel was limited for days, with aid coming via boats and some people living in isolated districts were facing the looming threat of hunger, said its chief Iskandar Usman Al-Farlaky.

“Food stocks in three districts are dwindling and hunger is around the corner,” he told Reuters, requesting a national emergency declaration from the central government. “The regional budget is limited.”

FUEL AND RICE SUPPLIES DWINDLING

National data shows that 135,000 people in East Aceh were affected by the disaster.

In Central Aceh, where 21 were killed and floods affected 54,000, supplies of fuel and rice were dwindling, said its chief, Haili Yoga, who is also among the four regional leaders urging the central government to declare a national emergency as public anger grows.

Across Indonesia, the floods have affected 3.1 million, with 592,600 evacuated.

Presidential spokesperson Prasetyo Hadi said Indonesia’s budget of 500 billion rupiah ($30 million) for disaster relief was sufficient, adding that the figure could be increased if necessary.

The comments followed remarks to reporters this week by President Prabowo Subianto, responding to a query about declaring a national emergency, that the situation was improving and current arrangements were enough.

WITH NO FRESH WATER, PEOPLE TURN TO MUDDY FLOODWATERS

Fuel supplies were also limited in Aceh’s Pidie Jaya region, said its chief Sibral Malasyi.

Residents of Aceh Tamiang were cleaning and drinking muddy flood water for lack of fresh water, KompasTV reported.

Jonathan Victor Rembeth, an official at the disaster mitigation agency, said a national emergency could be called if provincial governments declared their inability to respond to a disaster, which they have not yet done.

Indonesia, which is regularly hit by natural disasters, most recently declared a national emergency during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The law provides for the president to declare a national emergency, freeing up additional funds for relief and rescue.

On social media, Indonesians criticised the central government for not declaring an emergency and cited cuts to the budget for the disaster mitigation agency, which official data showed was down 50% this year from the last.

Indonesia’s home affairs minister, Tito Karnavian, said he had asked regional governments in areas not affected by the floods to donate unused funds to those affected.

State energy firm Pertamina faces fuel distribution challenges in “nearly all” the flood-affected areas, its spokesperson Muhammad Baron said. The company was seeking alternative routes, but delivery would take time.

Green groups blame deforestation and illegal logging for worsening the disaster.

($1=16,625.0000 rupiah)

(Reporting by Stanley Widianto, Ananda Teresia, Gayatri Suroyo, Fransiska Nangoy, Stefanno Sulaiman, Dewi Kurniawati in Jakarta and Hidayatullah in Pidie Jaya, Indonesia; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Alex Richardson)