Indonesia has raised the confirmed death toll from the catastrophic flooding in Sumatra to 631, with one million people evacuated and millions more impacted as authorities continue large-scale emergency operations across the island.

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The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) reported on Tuesday that 472 people remain missing after days of intense rainfall triggered severe flooding and landslides in multiple provinces, including North Sumatra, Aceh and West Sumatra. The agency’s latest update also doubles the number of displaced residents reported the previous day.

According to BNPB, more than 3.3 million people have been affected by the storms, which have left at least 2,600 injured, some of them in serious condition. The scale of destruction continues to expand as assessments progress. Nearly 9,000 homes have been damaged, including around 3,500 that were completely destroyed by overflowing rivers and landslides.

The disaster also damaged 322 schools and 277 bridges, while authorities continue to verify losses across 50 districts identified as heavily affected. Economic damage in the devastated regions has reached an estimated 4 billion dollars as of Monday.

BNPB’s head, a three-star army general, issued a public apology after stating that the massive floods only “looked shocking” on social media. President Prabowo Subianto visited communities in North Sumatra on Monday, where local officials have requested that the government declare a national disaster. Such a designation has been issued only three times in the past three decades, including during the Covid-19 pandemic and the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

The regional impact of the extreme weather extends beyond Indonesia. In Thailand, where floodwaters are gradually receding, authorities report 176 deaths and significant economic losses across southern provinces. In Sri Lanka, flooding has caused 390 deaths and left 352 people missing as of Monday night.

Although rainfall linked to monsoon conditions and an unusual tropical cyclone has begun to subside in parts of Sumatra, Indonesian authorities warn that the scale of human impact and infrastructural damage will require sustained national and regional coordination.

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