JAKARTA, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia's National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) said Monday that the death toll from recent floods and landslides in Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra has risen to 961 with 293 people still missing as joint search and rescue teams recovered 40 more bodies across affected areas.
"The search and rescue team managed to recover 40 bodies. In Aceh, the number of fatalities rose by 23 to 389. In North Sumatra, nine additional victims were found, bringing the total to 338. In West Sumatra, eight more bodies were recovered, raising the figure to 234," said Abdul Muhari, head of BNPB's Data and Information Center, during a press briefing broadcast on the agency's YouTube channel.
He added that the number of displaced residents had surged significantly. "There has been an increase in evacuees in East Aceh Regency and Bener Meriah Regency, bringing the total number of displaced people to 1,057,482. It is of course our responsibility at the main post to continue optimizing aid distribution to meet the basic needs of the evacuation centers," he said.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto on Sunday chaired a meeting on disaster response and recovery efforts after inspecting several affected locations in Aceh.
He instructed strengthened joint operations involving the military, police, the national search and rescue agency, BNPB and local governments, particularly in accelerating aid delivery, ensuring security and restoring connectivity between regions cut off by the disaster. ■
