JAKARTA: Indonesia’s Sumatra island will require 51.82 trillion rupiah ($3.11 billion) in reconstruction and recovery funds following a series of deadly floods, senior government officials said.
The death toll from the cyclone-induced floods and landslides reached 950 as of Monday, with 274 people still missing, according to official data. The storms also killed about 200 people in southern Thailand and Malaysia.
Suharyanto, head of Indonesia’s disaster mitigation agency, said that the recovery funds needed across the three provinces of Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra may still increase as the agency continues to calculate how much damage has been done.
Among the three provinces affected, Aceh needs the most funds, amounting to a total of 25.41 trillion rupiah, Suharyanto said at a cabinet meeting led by President Prabowo Subianto in Aceh province late on Sunday.
North Sumatra and West Sumatra will require 12.88 trillion and 13.52 trillion rupiah respectively, he added.
The reconstruction process will soon begin in some areas in North Sumatra and West Sumatra, which have recovered relatively well, he said.
“So, areas that are already in better condition can start the reconstruction process. We will relocate people living in evacuation centers to temporary houses,” Suharyanto said without providing a timeline.
The temporary houses are 40 square-meter plywood structures built by the government for people affected by natural disasters.
“In the next phase, they will be relocated into permanent houses, built by the housing ministry,” he added.
Responding to the initial estimated recovery cost, Prabowo said his calculations were “similar,” without elaborating whether he will approve the spending or not.
“The point is we have the capacity and we will do it meticulously and do our best to manage it,” Prabowo said.
Prabowo also said that conditions in some areas remained serious, with rice fields, dams and a large number of houses especially affected.
“The local leaders reported that there are quite a number of houses that we must help rebuild,” he said.
“In some places, there are still challenges,” he said, adding that the distribution of medication and clothes to the residents must also become a priority.
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Indonesia says more than $3 billion in recovery funds required after Sumatra floods
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Indonesia says more than $3 billion in recovery funds required after Sumatra floods
- Death toll from the cyclone-induced floods and landslides reached 950 as of Monday
- The storms also killed about 200 people in southern Thailand and Malaysia
Iceland joins Eurovision boycott over Israel’s participation
- Decision follows similar moves by Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland and Slovenia over the Gaza war
- Iceland’s national broadcaster says it pulled out 'given the public debate' in the country
LONDON: Iceland’s national broadcaster said Wednesday it will boycott next year’s Eurovision Song Contest because of discord over Israel’s participation, joining four other countries in a walkout of the pan-continental music competition.
Broadcasters in Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland and Slovenia told contest organizer the European Broadcasting Union last week that they will not take part in the contest in Vienna in May after organizers declined to expel Israel over its conduct of the war against Hamas in Gaza.
The board of Iceland’s RÚV met Wednesday to make a decision.
At its conclusion the broadcaster said in a statement that “given the public debate in this country ... it is clear that neither joy nor peace will prevail regarding the participation of RÚV in Eurovision. It is therefore the conclusion of RÚV to notify the EBU today that RÚV will not take part in Eurovision next year.”
“The Song Contest and Eurovision have always had the aim of uniting the Icelandic nation but it is now clear that this aim cannot be achieved and it is on these program-related grounds that this decision is taken,” the broadcaster said.
Last week the general assembly of the EBU — a group of public broadcasters from 56 countries that runs Eurovision — met to discuss concerns about Israel’s participation. Members voted to adopt tougher contest voting rules in response to allegations that Israel manipulated the vote in favor of its competitor, but took no action to exclude any broadcaster from the competition.
The pullouts include some big names in the Eurovision world. Spain is one of the “Big Five” large-market countries that contribute the most to the contest. Ireland has won seven times, a record it shares with Sweden.
Iceland, a volcanic North Atlantic island nation with a population of 360,000, has never won but has the highest per capita viewing audience of any country.
The walkouts cast a cloud over the future of what’s meant to be a feel-good cultural party marked by friendly rivalry and disco beats, dealing a blow to fans, broadcasters and the contest’s finances.
The contest, which turns 70 in 2026, strives to put pop before politics, but has repeatedly been embroiled in world events. Russia was expelled in 2022 after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
It has been roiled by the war in Gaza for the past two years, stirring protests outside the venues and forcing organizers to clamp down on political flag-waving.
Opponents of Israel’s participation cite the war in Gaza, where more than 70,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the territory’s Health Ministry, which operates under the Hamas-run government and whose detailed records are viewed as generally reliable by the international community.
Israel’s government has repeatedly defended its campaign as a response to the attack by Hamas-led militants on Oct. 7, 2023. The militants killed around 1,200 people — mostly civilians — in the attack and took 251 hostage.
A number of experts, including those commissioned by a UN body, have said that Israel’s offensive in Gaza amounts to genocide, a claim Israel has vigorously denied.
Wednesday marked the final day for national broadcasters to announce whether they planned to participate. More than two dozen countries have confirmed they will attend the contest in Vienna, and the EBU says a final list of competing nations will be published before Christmas.
Broadcasters in Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland and Slovenia told contest organizer the European Broadcasting Union last week that they will not take part in the contest in Vienna in May after organizers declined to expel Israel over its conduct of the war against Hamas in Gaza.
The board of Iceland’s RÚV met Wednesday to make a decision.
At its conclusion the broadcaster said in a statement that “given the public debate in this country ... it is clear that neither joy nor peace will prevail regarding the participation of RÚV in Eurovision. It is therefore the conclusion of RÚV to notify the EBU today that RÚV will not take part in Eurovision next year.”
“The Song Contest and Eurovision have always had the aim of uniting the Icelandic nation but it is now clear that this aim cannot be achieved and it is on these program-related grounds that this decision is taken,” the broadcaster said.
Last week the general assembly of the EBU — a group of public broadcasters from 56 countries that runs Eurovision — met to discuss concerns about Israel’s participation. Members voted to adopt tougher contest voting rules in response to allegations that Israel manipulated the vote in favor of its competitor, but took no action to exclude any broadcaster from the competition.
The pullouts include some big names in the Eurovision world. Spain is one of the “Big Five” large-market countries that contribute the most to the contest. Ireland has won seven times, a record it shares with Sweden.
Iceland, a volcanic North Atlantic island nation with a population of 360,000, has never won but has the highest per capita viewing audience of any country.
The walkouts cast a cloud over the future of what’s meant to be a feel-good cultural party marked by friendly rivalry and disco beats, dealing a blow to fans, broadcasters and the contest’s finances.
The contest, which turns 70 in 2026, strives to put pop before politics, but has repeatedly been embroiled in world events. Russia was expelled in 2022 after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
It has been roiled by the war in Gaza for the past two years, stirring protests outside the venues and forcing organizers to clamp down on political flag-waving.
Opponents of Israel’s participation cite the war in Gaza, where more than 70,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the territory’s Health Ministry, which operates under the Hamas-run government and whose detailed records are viewed as generally reliable by the international community.
Israel’s government has repeatedly defended its campaign as a response to the attack by Hamas-led militants on Oct. 7, 2023. The militants killed around 1,200 people — mostly civilians — in the attack and took 251 hostage.
A number of experts, including those commissioned by a UN body, have said that Israel’s offensive in Gaza amounts to genocide, a claim Israel has vigorously denied.
Wednesday marked the final day for national broadcasters to announce whether they planned to participate. More than two dozen countries have confirmed they will attend the contest in Vienna, and the EBU says a final list of competing nations will be published before Christmas.
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