An aerial photo of the houses that get swept away by flash floods in Tanjung Raya, West Sumatra taken on Dec. 5, 2025. (Antara Photo/Wahdi Septiawan)
Recent cyclone-driven floods and landslides have devastated parts of Sumatra — especially Aceh and North Sumatra — leaving hundreds dead, many missing, and whole villages cut off and short of food and clean water.
We plan to use 100% of donations to buy food supplies in Bukit Lawang (a trusted local supply hub and gateway to the Gunung Leuser area — Bukit Lawang) and personally transport them to affected communities in northern Aceh.
What happened?
In late November–early December 2025 a cyclone-driven series of heavy rains caused catastrophic floods and landslides across parts of Sumatra. As of 8 December 2025, official and press reports put the death toll at at least 950 people with several hundred still missing, and many thousands displaced. See recent coverage from Reuters and the Indonesian agency update at Antara/BNPB.
The provinces hardest hit are Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra — with Aceh reporting the largest share of fatalities and severe infrastructure damage. Thousands of homes, local markets and rice stores were damaged or destroyed, leaving whole communities without shelter, food or clean water. (Situation reports: ReliefWeb, The Guardian).
Getting help to many affected villages is extremely difficult: mud-choked roads, broken bridges and damaged communication networks are blocking convoys, and local health facilities are overwhelmed or non-functional. Aid agencies and local teams are using boats, canoes and ad hoc routes to reach cut-off communities. Read on operational constraints and the race to deliver supplies at ReliefWeb and reporting on disease and medical shortages at Reuters.
Note: official figures and conditions are changing quickly; for situational updates see: Antara (BNPB update) and local reporting such as The Guardian.
Road damage in North Sumatra (Antara)
How we’ll operate
Communities across northern and western Sumatra urgently need food, clean water, basic medical supplies and rapid local logistics — which is why we are raising funds, with which we will directly support victims. Here’s what we do:
- Buy rice, eggs, cooking oil and essentials in Bukit Lawang – where we are located.
- Transport supplies personally to villages and distribution points in Aceh that are currently hard to reach.
- Document everything — photos of purchases, transport receipts and delivery confirmations — and publish those on our site.
Donate
Please donation directly to our contact person in Bukit Lawang via Wise:
- 1. In case you still have to create a Wise account, click here (it is really a simple process)
- 2. Create a new recipient in your Wise account with the following details:
– Currency: IDR Indonesian Rupiah
– Recipient Type: Personal
– e-mail: [email protected]
– Name of Account Holder: Dedi Irwanto
– Bank name: Mandiri Kantor Pusat Operasional
– Account number: 1060011139238
- 3. Please use the reference donation for flood victims.
Every euro/dollar counts — even small amounts help buy staples for families that have lost everything. We’re a local community team; no admin fees — just food for people who urgently need it.
Thanks so much — we’ll post receipts and delivery photos on our website so you can see the impact of your gift. Don’t worry: we won’t update you via repeated emails – if you want regular updates, please follow our site’s updates.
— Your friends at Local Guides
