Frustration in Indonesia as flood survivors await aid

Tukka, Indonesia: Officials in Indonesia and Sri Lanka battled Wednesday to reach survivors of deadly flooding in remote, cut off regions as the toll...

Tukka, Indonesia: Officials in Indonesia and Sri Lanka battled Wednesday to reach survivors of deadly flooding in remote, cut-off regions as the toll in the disaster that hit four countries topped 1,300.

In Indonesia, there is growing frustration among survivors of catastrophic flooding and landslides over the pace of the rescue effort and aid delivery.

Humanitarian groups said the scale of the challenge was almost unprecedented even for a country that has faced no shortage of natural disasters.

This picture shows an aerial view of villagers wading through the mudflow to find a shelter in the aftermath of flash floods in Tukka village, Central Tapanuli, North Sumatra province, on December 3, 2025. Photo by YT HARIONO / AFP

Monsoon rains paired with two rare tropical storm systems, sometimes known in the region as cyclones, dumped record deluges across Sri Lanka, and parts of Indonesia's Sumatra, southern Thailand and northern Malaysia last week.