TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The massive floods and landslides that struck three Indonesian provinces, namely Aceh, West Sumatra, and North Sumatra, have caused extraordinary impacts, casualties, infrastructure damage, property losses, and have paralyzed the economy and social life of the community.
For this reason, the civil society coalition in Aceh is requesting President Prabowo Subianto to immediately declare a national emergency for this disaster. "We urge the President of the Republic of Indonesia to immediately declare a national emergency status for the major disaster that has struck Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra," said Alfian, the Coordinator of Transparency Aceh Society (MaTA) in Banda Aceh on Sunday, November 30, 2025, as quoted from Antara news agency.
In addition to MaTA, the civil society coalition concerned about this disaster consists of the Legal Aid Institute (LBH) of Banda Aceh, the Independent Journalists Alliance (AJI) of Banda Aceh, the Indonesian Foundation for Justice and Peace, and the International Conference on Aceh and Indian Ocean Studies (ICAIOS).
According to Alfian, thousands of residents are still isolated, tens of thousands of houses are submerged, and various public facilities such as schools, hospitals, bridges, as well as national roads connecting between provinces and districts, have suffered severe damage. "In several areas, transportation access is completely cut off, making it impossible to distribute logistical assistance," he said.
Furthermore, the situation is worsened by the scarcity of basic necessities, causing the community to suffer from hunger, as well as power outages and the paralysis of communication networks, further hampering emergency response efforts.
Alfian stated that the situation indicates that the capacity of local governments is no longer adequate to handle the widespread disaster, especially with very low fiscal conditions, including the financial state of the provincial government, particularly in Aceh. This makes sustainable disaster management impossible.
According to LBH Banda Aceh lawyer Rahmad Maulidin, the declaration of a national disaster emergency has a strong legal basis. This is regulated in Law Number 24 of 2007 concerning Disaster Management and Government Regulation (PP) Number 21 of 2008 concerning the Implementation of Disaster Management.
There is also Government Regulation Number 17 of 2018 concerning the Implementation of Disaster Management in Certain Circumstances. Furthermore, Rahmad said that there are other guidelines related to the declaration of a state of emergency due to a disaster.
From these regulations, he said, there are several indicators for the declaration of a national disaster emergency, such as a large number of casualties or refugees, significant material losses, a wide affected area, and disruption of public services and government functions.
In addition to these indicators, the declaration of a national disaster emergency is determined after the affected province is no longer able to mobilize human resources and logistical support for disaster management, including evacuation, rescue, and meeting basic needs.
For instance, in the case of Aceh, Rahmad said, several districts have officially stated their inability to handle this disaster. Moreover, the facts on the ground show that the evacuation and logistical support have not been maximized due to transportation and telecommunication constraints.
Prior to this, Tempo obtained a copy of the Statement Letter from the Central Aceh Regent Number 360/3654BPBD/2025 regarding the Inability to Carry Out Emergency Disaster Response Efforts. The letter was signed by the Central Aceh Regent Haili Yoga on November 27, 2025.
The letter contains three points. Firstly, it mentions the declaration of a state of emergency due to the flash floods and landslides that have resulted in 15 casualties and 3,123 displaced families.
Secondly, the Central Aceh Regent stated that considering the impact of the disaster that has occurred and the potential increase in casualties, the Central Aceh Regent declared the inability to carry out emergency disaster response efforts as they should be. "Thus, this statement of the inability to carry out emergency disaster response efforts can be used as necessary," the third point states in the letter.
The coalition urges President Prabowo to immediately declare the major flood disaster in the three provinces as a national disaster emergency. Rahmad stated that this is a form of the state's presence in fulfilling the basic rights of the victims and affected communities.
"Furthermore, we also encourage the Governors of Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra to jointly request President Prabowo Subianto to declare a national disaster emergency status," said Rahmad Maulidin.
Andi Adam contributed to the writing of this article.
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