KBRN, Jakarta: Four tons of food aid for victims of floods and landslides in West Sumatra have been dispatched using helicopters operated by the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas).

The Head of the Data, Information, and Disaster Communication Center at the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), Abdul Muhari, said the use of military equipment was necessary due to extensive infrastructure damage caused by the disaster.

“Several access routes are blocked following the floods and landslides,” Muhari stated in a press release on Monday, December 1, 2025.

BNPB, together with the TNI and Basarnas, delivered aid to the regencies of Solok, Agam, and West Pasaman.

Part of the delivery was carried out using Basarnas helicopters. The supplies included packaged food, rice, mineral water, raw food materials, mattresses, and medicine.

In West Pasaman Regency, a TNI Air Force helicopter transported 1.34 tons of aid to Maligi. The assistance comprised food and non-food items, including processed food, children’s meals, ready-to-eat packages, mineral water, and blankets.

Helicopter drops were also conducted in Agam Regency, where 2.3 tons of food and non-food aid were delivered to Tiku and Sungai Puar. The supplies included mineral water, snacks, baby food, processed food, necessities, blankets, and mattresses.

“This aid delivery was conducted using helicopters operated by the Indonesian Air Force,” Muhari added.

According to temporary data as of Monday, the Solok Regency Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) recorded 958 households, or 3,949 people, displaced, with a total of 4,750 households affected.

In West Pasaman Regency, 338 households, or 1,491 people, were displaced, while 14,808 households, or 57,948 people, were affected. Meanwhile, BPBD Agam is still compiling data on residents at evacuation posts.

BNPB and related agencies are working to optimize the distribution of food and non-food aid through land, sea, and air routes. “Opening land access is being carried out by deploying heavy equipment to ensure effective delivery,” Muhari said.

West Sumatra is one of three provinces, along with Aceh and North Sumatra, currently experiencing floods and landslides. More than 120 people have died in West Sumatra alone as a result of the disaster. (Annaila Azzahra/Lasti Martina)