North Sumatra Provincial Government: number of disaster evacuees declining sharply ahead of Eid 2026

Medan (ANTARA) — The North Sumatra Provincial Government has committed to significantly reducing the number of evacuees affected by hydrometeorological disasters ahead of Eid 2026.

“We hope that before Eid, evacuees will no longer be in tents,” stated Basarin Yunus Tanjung, Assistant for Government and Public Welfare at the North Sumatra Provincial Secretariat, in Medan on Tuesday.

He said the North Sumatra Provincial Government continues to accelerate the handling of evacuees to achieve a target of zero people in evacuation tents.

According to him, some evacuees have already moved into temporary housing units (huntara), with thousands more units being prepared for occupation.

Data from the North Sumatra Disaster Management Operations Control Centre as of 1 March 2026 recorded 3,554 people, or 921 households, still displaced in two regencies across North Sumatra.

“Overall, the progress of huntara construction has reached the 90-plus per cent mark,” said Basarin, who also serves as Daily Chairman of the North Sumatra Disaster Response Post.

The North Sumatra Provincial Government is also encouraging all parties to maintain collaboration by accelerating the transfer of evacuees from tents to huntara.

Several huntara sites have already been occupied by disaster-affected residents in three regencies in North Sumatra, including Simarpinggan Football Field with 186 units, Aek Latong Village, Marsada hamlet with 118 units, and PTPN IV Regional I Division III Batang Toru Plantation with 129 units in South Tapanuli.

Meanwhile, a number of other huntara construction sites in South Tapanuli and Central Tapanuli remain in the completion phase.

“For South Tapanuli, it is hoped that on 15 March evacuees will move into huntara, as the housing units will only be ready on that date,” explained Basarin.

In addition to providing temporary housing, evacuees in South Tapanuli and Central Tapanuli are also receiving Housing Wait Allowance (Dana Tunggu Hunian/DTH).

This assistance is intended for evacuees who choose not to live in huntara. “The distribution of DTH is already underway and continues to be disbursed according to BNBP documentation or by name by address,” he said.