Flood Victims in Aceh Repair Damaged Bridge in Just Two Days Through Community Effort

Residents of Tetingi Village, Pantan Cuaca District, Gayo Lues Regency, Aceh, required only two days to repair a suspension bridge damaged by flash flooding so that it could be traversed by the community again.

Tetingi Village Head Mahmud, 41, stated that the bridge repair was carried out through community self-help initiatives and mutual cooperation among villagers.

“The villagers worked together through mutual cooperation to meet our needs so that we could transport whatever we need from the other side. We repaired it together in two days,” he said, as reported by Antara on Monday 16 March.

He explained that the suspension bridge, approximately 20 metres in length, was originally constructed by the government in 1994 and had never undergone repairs until a partial upgrade was performed in 2021 using village budget funds.

At that time, the village government replaced the bridge decking with an iron framework to make it safer for public use.

However, the bridge sustained damage again when the bridge’s support pillars fractured and the flooring broke after flash flooding struck the village on 26 November 2025, prompting residents to undertake independent repairs so it could be used.

Based on village government data collection, Tetingi Village is home to 133 household heads with a total population of 418 people. All of them became victims affected by the flooding disaster and require the bridge to conduct their activities.

According to Mahmud, the repairs undertaken by villagers were emergency measures to prevent complete severance of public access, particularly for transporting necessities from the area across the river and for children to attend school.

“Since the disaster, there has been no government construction whatsoever, so this is the result of community effort to make it passable for now,” he said.

He added that materials used for bridge repairs were partially derived from support through amended village budget allocations, which were deployed to help provide materials.

Although now usable, the bridge can only be crossed by pedestrians and motorcycles with additional safety measures.

“Two-wheeled vehicles can cross, but they must be assisted by several people for safety, like being carried,” Mahmud said, whilst hoping that the central government, through the military and national police, could soon undertake permanent repairs to the bridge given its critical role as an access link for residents living in the Gayo Lues highlands.