CENTRAL TAPANULI, NORTH SUMATRA —— Dompet Dhuafa, through its Disaster Management Center (DMC) response team, today, Tuesday (11/25/2025), found three bodies of flash flood victims in Bair Village, Tapian Nauli District, Central Tapanuli Regency. This discovery was made as the DMC team joined the joint Search and Rescue (SAR) team as part of Search Response Unit (SRU) 2.
The joint SAR team was divided into four SRUs, with SRU 2 instructed to conduct a search in the Bair Village search area. The evacuation process took place from morning until night. The large amount of debris and landslide debris piled up posed a challenge and required more time for the search process.
“Alhamdulillah, the search efforts were successful. The joint SAR team managed to find three bodies in the same location, consisting of two men and one woman who are believed to be a family,” said Aryo Prasojo, a member of the DDTV team on the ground, in his report.
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This flash flood disaster was triggered by rain accompanied by storms that poured down on the Tapanuli Tengah Regency since Monday (11/24). The peak occurred on Tuesday (11/25) in the early hours of the morning, around dawn, when flash floods carried large rocks and logs that hit residential areas in Bair Village, Tapian Nauli District.
“A total of 29 houses were reported to have been flattened and swept away by the swift currents. Not only residents’ houses, but the Bair Village Office was also lost in an instant. The latest data shows that at least seven people are still being searched for by the joint SAR team,” explained Aryo.
One of the survivors, Hermida (55), recounted the horror she experienced to the Dompet Dhuafa team. She and her family survived after running to find a safe place when the incident occurred on Tuesday morning at 5:00 a.m.
“When the incident occurred, we ran to find a safe and accessible place,” said Hermida.
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In a short time, floods mixed with large rocks and logs hit his village. He and his family had to evacuate to the nearest church. Seeing the large pieces of wood left behind her house, Hermida is now traumatized and plans to move to another place for the safety of her family.
Dompet Dhuafa, through the DMC Team, will continue to coordinate and strengthen search and evacuation efforts with the joint SAR Team, while distributing emergency aid to survivors who are now displaced.
At the same time, we can reignite the spirit of solidarity and mutual aid by donating or supporting humanitarian actions through digital.dompetdhuafa.org/donasi/prayforsumatera. (Dompet Dhuafa)
Text and photos: Dhika, Aryo Prasojo
Editor: Dedi Fadlil