Sumatran Elephants Join Cleanup as Indonesia Faces £2.3bn Recovery After Deadly Floods

Domesticated Sumatran elephants have been pressed into service to help remove heavy debris after cyclone-driven floods and landslides devastated parts of Indonesia.

Officials reported the national death toll had reached 950 on Monday, with 274 people still unaccounted for. Across neighbouring Thailand and Malaysia, roughly 200 people are believed to have died as a result of the same storms.

Four trained Sumatran elephants were deployed to assist clearing operations as senior officials estimated that Sumatra Island will require 51.82 trillion rupiah (about £2.33bn) for reconstruction and recovery.

Suharyanto, head of Indonesia’s disaster mitigation agency (BNPB), warned that the funding requirement across the three hardest-hit provinces — Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra — could rise as damage assessments continue.

At a cabinet meeting in Aceh province late on Sunday, Suharyanto said Aceh alone requires 25.41 trillion rupiah, the largest share of the initial estimate. He added that North Sumatra will need 12.88 trillion rupiah and West Sumatra 13.52 trillion rupiah.

Reconstruction work is due to begin in parts of North Sumatra and West Sumatra that have stabilised, Suharyanto said. The recovery plan will proceed in phases: relocation from evacuation centres to temporary houses, followed by construction of permanent homes by the housing ministry.

"Areas that are already in better condition can start the reconstruction process. We will relocate people living in evacuation centres to temporary houses. In the next phase, they will be relocated into permanent houses, built by the housing ministry," Suharyanto said.

The temporary shelters are 40-square-metre plywood units the government constructs for victims of natural disasters.

President Prabowo Subianto said his own early calculations of recovery costs were "similar" to the officials' estimates, though he did not state whether he would immediately approve the proposed spending. He warned conditions remain severe in some areas, with rice fields, dams and many homes particularly affected, and said prioritising the distribution of medicine and clothing was essential.

"The point is we have the capacity and we will do it meticulously and do our best to manage it. The local leaders reported that there are quite a number of houses that we must help rebuild. In some places, there are still challenges," Mr Subianto added.

Relief teams continue search-and-rescue and damage assessments across affected districts. Officials emphasise that final recovery costs may increase as more accurate surveys are completed and long-term needs — including infrastructure repair and agricultural losses — are included.