Aceh Tengah Regent: Everyone Joins Forces to Build Temporary Housing in Remote Village

Temporary housing is beginning to be built in Gewat Village, Linge Sub-district, Aceh Tengah Regency, one of the areas affected by the Sumatra floods with fairly difficult geographical access. This village is part of the disadvantaged, frontier, and outermost (3T) areas, located in a mountainous region surrounded by pine forests. Although the distance from the centre of Aceh Tengah Regency is only about 60 km, land access to the location is still in the form of unpaved dirt roads. This condition worsened due to the floods that hit at the end of 2025 and is now in the recovery phase. Amid these limitations, the Regent of Aceh Tengah, Haili Yoga, directly inspected the remote location. From the field point, he reported the post-flood recovery conditions to the Minister of Home Affairs and Head of the Task Force for Accelerating Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Post-Disaster (PRR), Tito Karnavian, on Wednesday, 18 March 2026. In the Regent of Aceh Tengah’s report, five units of Huntara will be built in Gewat Village with support from the University of Indonesia and Dompet Dhuafa ahead of Eid. The community is also ready to work together to build the housing. This supports the Satgas PRR’s target to ensure no more affected residents live in evacuation tents. The assistance from UI comes from alumni of the Faculty of Engineering. Based on the Instagram post @fakultasteknik.ui, Huntara construction began on 7 March 2026. Currently, one unit has been erected, and land clearing for the other 11 units is underway. UI targets four units to be completed before Eid, while the remaining seven units will be finished within 30 days after the Eid holiday. Iluni FT UI is erecting Huntara measuring 4 × 7.2 metres. This Huntara uses the Antara Version 3 model, a refinement of previous designs applied in disaster responses in Lombok, Palu, and Cianjur. Its design draws inspiration from the Gayo traditional house, Uma Pitu Ruang, with a stilt house concept made of strong and durable wood. The geographical conditions of Gewat Village in the mountainous area remain a concern in efforts to accelerate recovery. In addition, direct communication from the field between local government and central government signals strong collaboration in post-disaster handling. “There are community members ready to work together, Sir, so that this Huntara is ready. Before Eid, residents will have moved to this house,” said Yoga in his video report sent to the Head of Satgas PRR, Tito Karnavian. Based on Satgas data as of 17 March 2026, Huntara construction in Linge Sub-district continues to show progress. Of the total target of 522 units, 278 units have been completed. All completed Huntara are now occupied by affected residents who previously lived in evacuation tents. In addition to Huntara construction, the Regent of Aceh Tengah distributed various aids to meet the needs of Gewat Village residents. Such aids include basic foodstuffs, the Al-Qur’an, and other necessities. President Prabowo Subianto also provided assistance to support the meugang tradition in Aceh. Gewat Village, which has around 65 family heads (KK), is one of the recipients of aid in the form of one cow. Meanwhile, Aceh Tengah Regency as a whole received aid worth Rp 8,050,000,000. “Earlier we provided all the necessary aid to the entire community. There are 65 KK here, Sir, 65 KK. And tomorrow we will also deliver one cow or buffalo to Gewat Village,” said Yoga. Head of Satgas PRR Tito Karnavian has repeatedly expressed his optimism that there will be no more refugees in tents before Eid al-Fitr. This effort is carried out by accelerating Huntara construction so that the community can be relocated immediately. “Our target before Eid is that everyone is no longer in tents,” he said during his visit to East Aceh on Monday, 16 March 2026. Satgas PRR was formed to ensure the presence of the state in helping recovery for flood-affected residents in Sumatra. Recovery efforts not only cover housing construction but also health services, education, and other basic needs. The Satgas target is to return the lives of flood-affected communities to normal as before.