Health Services in Flood-Hit Sumatra Fully Restored, Minister Says

Jakarta: Home Affairs Minister Muhammad Tito Karnavian said health services have been fully restored in three Sumatra provinces affected by floods and landslides—Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra.

Speaking at a meeting on post-disaster rehabilitation and reconstruction in Jakarta on Monday, Karnavian said the recovery was achieved through accelerated efforts by the central government in coordination with local administrations.

Data from the Task Force for the Acceleration of Post-Disaster Rehabilitation and Reconstruction in Sumatra show that nine of 87 affected regional public hospitals had previously stopped operating—eight in Aceh and one in North Sumatra. All of the hospitals have now resumed normal services.

Of the 867 affected community health centers (puskesmas), 152 had been out of service. As of now, 865 have returned to normal operations, while two are still operating from temporary facilities pending the construction of new buildings.

Karnavian, who also chairs the task force, said learning activities in the three provinces have fully resumed, although about 3 percent of classes are still being conducted in temporary classrooms.

In the basic infrastructure sector, electricity restoration has made significant progress. In Aceh, less than 1 percent of areas remain under recovery, while North Sumatra has reached 99 percent restoration. West Sumatra’s power supply has been fully restored.

All public fuel stations in the three provinces are back in operation. Internet services have also returned to normal, and supplies of fuel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) remain stable, Karnavian said.

He stressed the need to maintain consistent logistics supplies to support daily activities and accelerate regional economic recovery.

In the economic sector, all markets in West Sumatra and North Sumatra have resumed operations. In Aceh, about 65 percent of markets are operating, with the remainder recovering gradually.

Karnavian also confirmed that government administration has resumed across disaster-affected areas, including Aceh Tamiang District, one of the regions hardest hit by floods in November.

Local governments at the provincial, district, and city levels have returned to normal public service functions, although several infrastructure components—particularly roads and bridges at provincial, district, and village levels—still require further repairs.