A Home Amid the Ruins of Memory

Three months after the floods, Pidie Jaya has gradually improved, with main roads now accessible by vehicle.

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Reaching Pidie Jaya requires approximately four hours by car from the city of Banda Aceh.

The journey can be completed more quickly by using the Sigli-Banda Aceh toll road. Via the toll access, it takes only three hours to reach Bumi Japakeh, as Pidie Jaya is nicknamed, when travelling from Banda Aceh.

Pidie Jaya is one of the districts in Aceh province most severely affected by the Sumatran floods of 25-30 November 2025.

Road access via both the toll road and inter-city/provincial routes had previously been disrupted due to terrain inundated by water or buried under mud deposits.

Three months after the floods, Pidie Jaya has gradually improved, with main roads now accessible by vehicle.

The ANTARA team entered the town — which administratively became a regency in 2007 — amid rainfall that had persisted since morning.

The previous evening, according to BMKG weather reports, Pidie Jaya had experienced moderate-intensity rainfall. The rain resumed during the early morning hours before dawn.

Once the rain subsided, residents had already begun stretching their muscles and working together in mutual cooperation to clear mud deposits from each affected home.

Currently in Meurudu sub-district, Pidie Jaya, a number of houses remain submerged in mud reaching approximately adult knee height.

A warm atmosphere greeted us as we entered the temporary shelter (huntara) built by Danantara, which had been officially inaugurated just two days earlier.