‘I decided I’d die’: Indonesia’s flood victims recount stories of survival

Medan, Indonesia – As floodwaters burst into Nurdin and his wife’s location successful Indonesia’s Aceh Province past week, the aged mates crawled onto their bed.

Nurdin, who uses a wheelchair pursuing a stroke, resigned himself to his fate.

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“I was conscionable waiting to die. I didn’t privation to permission my home,” Nurdin, who lives successful the metropolis of Langsa, told Al Jazeera.

“I decided I would conscionable dice there, but my woman insisted we leave.”

As the h2o continued to rise, Nurdin’s younger member called connected the couple’s neighbours for help.

By the clip Nurdin’s neighbours arrived astatine astir 4am connected Wednesday to transportation the brace to safety, the h2o was chest-deep.

“As I was being carried, we got deed by a beardown h2o current, which knocked my neighbour disconnected his feet, and we some plunged into the flood,” said Nurdin, 71, who, similar galore Indonesians, uses a azygous name.

“I started to drown arsenic I couldn’t basal up, and I thought ‘This is it’.”

Nurdin and his woman reached their neighbours’ location unhurt, but torrential rains soon made the gathering uninhabitable, forcing them to question the assistance of the army, which evacuated the brace to a section mosque utilizing a array arsenic a makeshift stretcher.

“There were nary apparel there, truthful I conscionable had to deterioration a sarung,” Nurdin said. “I was determination for 4 days.”

Wreckages of vehicles litter a colony affected by a flash flood successful Agam, West Sumatra, Indonesia, connected December 1, 2025 [Ade Yuandha/AP]

At the mosque, Nurdin said that different Langsa nonmigratory told him that helium lived adjacent to a cemetery and had seen bodies rising retired of the crushed and floating distant successful the deluge.

Nurdin, who has been staying astatine his brother’s location since the floodwaters receded, has yet to instrumentality to his home, but his sibling told him that astir everything was gone erstwhile helium visited the scene.

“Maybe astir 1 percent of my belongings tin beryllium saved. Everything successful the room is gone, and my fridge was destroyed,” Nurdin said.

“My wardrobes had the doors ripped disconnected them, and each the apparel were covered successful h2o and mud. The mud successful beforehand of my location is inactive astir fractional a metre high.”

Floods successful Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Malaysia person killed much than 1,140 radical implicit the past week, pursuing utmost upwind brought connected by 3 tropical cyclones.

At slightest 631 radical person been killed successful Indonesia alone.

With galore areas crossed the land of Sumatra inactive inaccessible, the decease toll is expected to rise.

Many parts of the land person been buried successful landslides, pursuing flash floods which person made roads impassable and impeded hunt and rescue efforts.

Nurkasyah sits with different displaced residents astatine a assemblage centre successful Kuta Makmur, North Aceh Regency, Aceh Province, Indonesia, connected November 26, 2025 [Courtesy of Nasir]

Nurkasyah, a 70-year-old nonmigratory of Kuta Makmur, northern Aceh Province, is among the galore who person mislaid astir each their possessions.

“My washing machine, my fridge, atom cooker, and each my atom was destroyed,” Nurkasyah told Al Jazeera.

“Everything is inactive successful my house; it didn’t interval away, but it was submerged successful water, truthful I can’t usage it immoderate more. I mightiness beryllium capable to prevention my furniture if I enactment it extracurricular and fto it adust successful the prima for a fewer days.”

Nurkasyah said that the waters started to emergence connected Tuesday but subsided somewhat earlier rising again connected Wednesday pursuing torrential rainfall overnight, until h2o was “coming successful done the windows”.

Along with 300 others, Nurkasyah took structure successful a section assemblage centre for the adjacent 5 days, eating lone the fewer basal necessities that panicked residents had been capable to drawback arsenic they raced to flight the rising waters.

“We conscionable ate rice, instant noodles and immoderate eggs. There wasn’t capable nutrient to spell around,” she said. “I person been to spot my home, but it is afloat of mud now, truthful I can’t unrecorded there.”

At the aforesaid clip arsenic Nurkasyah was watching the floodwaters emergence astir her home, her son, Nasir, was taking a autobus from Banda Aceh, the provincial superior of Aceh, to Medan, the provincial superior of neighbouring North Sumatra.

The travel by roadworthy usually takes astir 12 hours, but Nasir recovered himself marooned connected the autobus for the adjacent 5 days.

“After we near connected Tuesday, the floodwaters were starting to rise, but we could inactive get through,” helium told Al Jazeera.

“Unfortunately, erstwhile we got to Kuala Simpang connected Wednesday afternoon, the operator said helium couldn’t spell immoderate further oregon spell back,” helium said, referring to a municipality connected the border of Aceh and North Sumatra provinces.

As the municipality began to beryllium submerged successful the rising floodwaters, Nasir and the different passengers climbed onto the extortion of the autobus to support harmless and survey the scene.

Nasir stands connected the extortion of a autobus marooned successful Kuala Simpang, Aceh Tamiang Regency, Aceh Province, Indonesia, connected November 27, 2025 [Courtesy of Nasir]

“On Sunday morning, a radical of america decided to instrumentality the inaugural and effort to find an alternate way retired of there,” Nasir said.

“We agreed among ourselves that determination was nary mode we could spell backmost to Aceh, and we would person to property connected to Medan. We managed to find a vessel owned by a fisherman, who took america portion of the way, and past a pick-up motortruck took america the remainder of the way.”

With galore roads unpassable owed to mud, fallen trees and different debris, Nasi present faces the imaginable of an arduous trek home.

“Now, I americium going to effort and alert backmost to Aceh by plane, alternatively than effort the travel by roadworthy again,” helium said.