by Dames Alexander Sinaga
JAKARTA, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- When the first drops of rain began tapping against the tin roofs of Garoga Village in Indonesia's South Tapanuli district, no one thought much of it.
In this part of North Sumatra, heavy rain is as common as the scent of wet earth. But by nightfall, the drizzle had thickened into a relentless downpour, turning narrow footpaths into muddy channels and forcing the nearby river over its banks.
By dawn, half the village lay underwater.
For Lenny Haryani, a 40-year-old mother of three, the night the floods arrived remained a blur. She remembered being startled awake by her neighbors shouting.
"When I opened the door, the water was already at my waist," she told Xinhua in a phone interview.
With her children wrapped in blankets and still half-asleep, Haryani waded through the rising water toward the mosque, which had quickly become the village's main refuge. There was no time to gather clothes.
"Only my children," she said softly. "Only they mattered."
Her home, like many along the riverbanks, now stands partially submerged, its wooden frame weakened after days in standing water.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the death toll from recent floods and landslides across the country's three provinces on Sumatra Island has surpassed 700, with more than 500 people reported missing, according to the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB).
The BNPB also reported that about 1.1 million residents in North Sumatra, West Sumatra, and Aceh provinces have been displaced.
Rescue operations continue across affected regions, but rescue teams are struggling to reach several villages on Sumatra Island after floods washed away roads and destroyed bridges.
Although helicopters and boats have been deployed, local authorities said worsening weather and damaged infrastructure are still slowing response efforts.
The temporary shelters hosting evacuees like Haryani and her children are lively with activity. Despite limited space, irregular supply deliveries, and occasional power outages, families support one another -- sharing what they have and finding comfort in being together.
Even amid hardship, a strong sense of community persists -- mothers take turns cooking in a makeshift kitchen, while older teenagers help carry clean water from a tanker truck outside.
"We don't know when we can go home," Haryani said. "But at least we're together."
Volunteers from local organizations move briskly through the shelters, coordinating supplies and conducting medical checks.
"It's always the same pattern," said Arief Siregar, a volunteer who has responded to multiple floods in the region.
"The water comes so fast that people have no time to save anything. Our priority is to make sure everyone survives," the 32-year-old added.
At the same time, efforts to restore telecommunications services are also being accelerated. The Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs reported that more than 90 percent of transmission towers in flood- and landslide-affected areas in West Sumatra and North Sumatra have resumed operations.
The ministry is also accelerating efforts to restore telecommunications networks, ensuring residents can reconnect and access essential information.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has visited the disaster-hit provinces and ordered authorities to carry out rescue and relief efforts with full force.
He stressed that Indonesia must strengthen its response to climate change and that local governments should play a greater role in environmental protection and in preparing for future extreme weather events. ■