Follow-Up Floods Hit Pidie Jaya, Task Force Head Tito Explains Causes
A video circulated on social media on Wednesday night, 8 April 2026, showing the overflow of water from the Sungai Meureudu or Kreung Meureudu River in Pidie Jaya, Aceh. The footage depicted the river water spilling over into residents’ settlements along the riverbanks. At least 13 villages were affected.
The Task Force for Accelerating Rehabilitation and Reconstruction (Satgas PRR) recorded that the flood was triggered by high rainfall intensity in the mountainous areas, causing the discharge of the Kreung Meureudu River to increase and overflow into settlements in two sub-districts in Pidie Jaya. “The average water height ranges from 40 to 70 centimetres,” stated the Satgas PRR report received by Tempo.
Based on reports from the Pidie Jaya Military District Command (Kodim), the affected areas are spread across Meurah Dua Sub-district and Meureudu Sub-district. In Meurah Dua, seven villages were impacted, including Pante Beurne, Dayah Husen, and Beuringin, with water levels reaching around 50 centimetres. Meanwhile, in Meureudu Sub-district, six villages were affected, including Meunasah Lhok, Beurawang, and Manyang Lancok.
The overflowing water not only submerged residents’ homes but also flooded main roads in the area. Several village roads and inter-regional access routes were difficult to pass, especially for small vehicles.
The water overflow occurred suddenly after heavy rain hit the upstream areas. This condition was worsened by the river’s reduced capacity due to sedimentation following the major Sumatra flood previously. The flood was also triggered by the breaching of the Kreung Meureudu River embankment near SD IT Pante Geulima in Meureudu Sub-district.
Most areas have now gradually recovered. Water in the majority of villages has been reported to have receded, although some points still have puddles 20–50 centimetres high. The Medan–Banda Aceh cross-route, which was temporarily affected, can now be traversed by two-wheeled and four-wheeled vehicles. There were no fatalities or significant material losses in this incident.
This disaster poses a major challenge for Satgas PRR in restoring all rivers in the post-Sumatra disaster region. Besides Kreung Meureudu, recurrent floods have also occurred in Central Tapanuli. For example, a river overflow on 11 February inundated at least four sub-districts and nine wards, and swept away an emergency bridge built by Satgas PRR.
Even from February to March, Central Tapanuli was hit by follow-up floods up to three times. This series of events shows that recovery challenges are not only in rebuilding infrastructure but also in improving river systems to prevent similar disasters from recurring.
Satgas PRR Head and Interior Minister Tito Karnavian inspected the disaster-affected locations in Central Tapanuli on Saturday, 24 January 2026. Doc. Ministry of Home Affairs
Satgas PRR, also the Interior Minister, Tito Karnavian, stated that Sumatra’s recovery requires comprehensive and collaborative handling, especially regarding river management. “There, even a little rain causes flooding,” he said during a working meeting with the DPR on 30 March.
The rivers in Sumatra, Tito continued, are impacted by sediment and damage along the flow, making them prone to flooding. “Moreover, the rivers there are wide. For example, in Aceh Tamiang, the width reaches 1 kilometre and the length is perhaps 30 kilometres,” he stated.
The former National Police Chief acknowledged that this handling requires time and cannot be completed in 2-3 months. “Satgas is now accelerating, but full recovery might take three years,” Tito added.
Satgas PRR data shows that a total of 122 rivers were affected by the major floods at the end of 2025, spread across three provinces in Sumatra. The heaviest burden is in North Sumatra with 48 rivers, followed by West Sumatra with 43 rivers, and Aceh with 31 rivers.
Of that number, 79 rivers are under central government authority, while 43 others are under regional government authority. To date, the central government has normalised 38 rivers or about 48 percent of its total authority, while regional governments have handled 16 rivers or about 37 percent.
If detailed by province, in Aceh there are 24 central authority rivers with 13 of them handled, and seven regional authority rivers with two normalised. In North Sumatra, of 23 central authority rivers, only four have been handled, while the regional government has normalised 10 out of 25 rivers. In West Sumatra, progress is relatively higher, with 21 out of 32 central authority rivers handled and four out of 11 regional rivers completed by local authorities.
Specifically in Pidie Jaya, the urgency of river system improvement includes identifying four major river estuaries, namely the estuary of Sungai Krueng Meureudu, Kr. Beunacan, Kr. Jeulanga/Ulim, and Kr. Panteraja.
The flood that returned to Krueng Meureudu, although already in the programme, shows challenges in rehabilitation. Although river channel cleaning and river body opening have been carried out, sedimentation and embankment damage still limit the river’s capacity during heavy rain.
Meanwhile, recurrent floods in Central Tapanuli stem from not one main river but several small and medium rivers spread across several sub-districts, such as Aek Pintubosi and Aek Siaili. Partial handling makes the water flow not yet comprehensively organised, so follow-up floods continue to occur in recent months.
In addition to river rehabilitation, Satgas PRR is also addressing river estuaries. Of the total 38 affected estuaries in three provinces, only 10 estuaries or about 26 percent have been normalised. The remaining 28 estuaries are still in the processing stage.
On the other hand, Satgas PRR continues to pursue targets for connectivity infrastructure work, targeted to be fully completed by the end of 2026. In Aceh, the construction of the permanent Alue Kulus Bridge and Weihni Enang-Enang in the border route section.