Flood-hit Indonesian regions run low on fuel, funds for relief effort

Authorities battling floods on Indonesia's island of Sumatra that killed 804 people this week have appealed for more central government help to tackle shortages of funds, food and fuel in relief efforts.

Cyclone-induced floods and landslides have left 634 missing across the three provinces of West Sumatra, North Sumatra, and Aceh, while local government officials said severed power and road links blocked access to aid.

"People are getting sick," Teuku Raja Keumangan, an official in Aceh, where floods have affected 25,000 people in the Nagan Raya region, told news channel Kompas TV, adding that there was no budget left for relief work.

In central Aceh, where 21 died and floods affected 54,000, supplies of fuel and rice are dwindling, said its chief, Haili Yoga, urging the central government to declare a national emergency as public anger grows over victims cut off from help.

Indonesia's budget of 500 billion rupiah ($30 million) for disaster relief is sufficient, presidential spokesperson Prasetyo Hadi said on Wednesday, however, adding that the figure could be increased if necessary.

The comments followed remarks to reporters this week by President Prabowo Subianto, responding to a query about declaring a national emergency, that the situation was improving and current arrangements were enough.

WITH NO FRESH WATER, PEOPLE TURN TO MUDDY FLOODWATERS

Fuel supplies are also limited in Aceh's Pidie Jaya region, said its chief Sibral Malasyi.

Residents of Aceh Tamiang are cleaning and drinking muddy flood water for lack of fresh water, KompasTV added.

Jonathan Victor Rembeth, an official of the disaster mitigation agency, said a national emergency could be called if provincial governments declared their inability to respond to a disaster, which they have not yet done.

Indonesia, where the floods have affected 3.3 million, with 576,000 evacuated, most recently declared a national emergency for the COVID-19 pandemic.

The law provides for the president to declare a national emergency, freeing up additional funds for relief and rescue.

On social media, Indonesians criticised the central government for not declaring an emergency, besides citing cuts to the budget for the disaster mitigation agency, which official data shows was down 50 per cent this year from the last.

Indonesia's home affairs minister, Tito Karnavian, said he had asked regional governments in areas not affected by the floods to donate unused funds to those affected, after they warned they were running low.

The central government would support local authorities who said they had "given up" on flood response work, Tito added on Wednesday.

State energy firm Pertamina faces fuel distribution challenges in "nearly all" the flood-affected areas, its spokesperson Muhammad Baron said. The company is seeking alternative routes, but delivery will take time.

Green groups blame deforestation and illegal logging for worsening the disaster.