00:00Indonesia's island of Sumatra has also been hard hit with estimates of 175 deaths in floods and landslides,
00:08though the numbers are difficult to confirm.
00:10Entire areas have been cut off by flooded roads and communication lines are also down, hampering rescue efforts.
00:17The journalist Juan Robin spoke to me from Jakarta.
00:20The exact numbers of victims remain unclear and is still being counted.
00:24Meanwhile, dozens of others are still missing.
00:27At least 41 people are missing in North Sumatra and 11 in Aceh.
00:32In these three locations, at least 12,546 families have been displaced or an estimated tens of thousands of people have been affected because of the floods.
00:43Like, much infrastructure has been damaged and it's cutting off access for people.
00:49For example, the road between North Sumatra and Aceh was cut off due to high flooding.
00:53The Banda Aceh-Medan National Bridge in Pidijaya, Aceh, was also cut off due to flooding.
01:00Several inter-district roads in Aceh and West Sumatra were cut off.
01:03Even inter-city roads in West Sumatra are now impassable due to landslides.
01:08The Ministry of Communications and Digital reported disruptions.
01:13So, really massive impact.
01:16You mentioned the three provinces of Sumatra most affected.
01:19Are other parts of Indonesia currently affected by this weather and how are the search and rescue operations progressing?
01:26Yeah, the severity of the flooding is evenly distributed across the three regions.
01:33But I think North Sumatra is perhaps the worst hit, judging by the data so far.
01:38Search and rescue teams also continue to evacuate people by rubber boots due to limited road access to the flooded areas.
01:46In North Sumatra, at least two aircraft have been deployed to evacuate residents also.
01:52Weather modifications operations are also underway to halt the ongoing rain until tomorrow.
01:58Juan, how worried are the authorities about the weather worsening?
02:01What is the forecast for the coming days?
02:04According to the weather forecast, tomorrow morning will likely be sunny in those provinces.
02:09I think it will be like rain likely after work.
02:14There should be no more heavy rain as weather modification efforts have been implemented by the government since two days ago.
02:22And are there any international agencies helping to support the rescue efforts there?
02:28Or has this mainly been handled by domestic and regional authorities there in Indonesia?
02:33So far, as we could see, the majority of aid received has come from within the country, from domestic.
02:40President Prabowo has ordered his subordinates to send aid to the victims, at least for transport.
02:46Planes were dispatched on Friday carrying 150 tanks, 64 rubber boats for evacuation, electrical equipment, of course,
02:54and communication equipment to restore network connectivity.
02:57Looking ahead and knowing the country as you do, what do you think the biggest obstacles will be in moving on from rescue towards rebuilding?
03:07The biggest challenge will be rebuilding intercity connectivity.
03:10As bridges, like I said before, have been cut off in these three provinces, rebuilding housing will also be a challenge.
03:17As many houses have been collapsed because of this disaster,
03:22therefore residents will inevitably be forced to continue to take refuge in the provide shelters.
03:28These are the two biggest challenges to rebuild the three provinces in Indonesia.
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