Flash Floods Hit Padang in West Sumatra: Hundreds Evacuated by Rubber Boat as Homes Are Inundated
PADANG, Indonesia — Flash floods struck Padang, capital of West Sumatra province, on Saturday afternoon, October 10, after relentless heavy rain, inundating homes in several districts and forcing residents to evacuate to safer ground. Search-and-rescue personnel from the West Sumatra Police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) used rubber boats to evacuate residents, in scenes photographed by Antara news agency at the disaster sites.
Hendri Zulviton, head of the Padang Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), said the joint teams' main priority was saving lives. Reports had come in mainly from two districts — Kuranji and Koto Tangah — which were designated the worst affected. In Kuranji, flooding was most severe around Guo Lapau Munggu; in Koto Tangah, the worst-hit locations were the Lumin Park housing complex in Lubuk Minturun and Kampung Apa. About 300 Brimob personnel were deployed across three sites, 100 of them at Lumin Park, from where around 300 residents were evacuated.
The Lumin Park area has a history of similar disasters: in late November 2025 it was struck by a comparable flood that claimed several lives and swept away many vehicles. This time, floodwaters also disrupted transport — a section of the By Pass road in front of Siti Rahma Hospital was impassable as water kept rising. As of Saturday night, no official casualty figures had been reported, and evacuations were still under way.
Indonesia's weather agency has warned of rising heavy-rain risks across Sumatra as the rainy season deepens. Padang authorities urged residents living near rivers and in flood-prone areas to stay vigilant, with disaster and rescue teams on duty overnight against the possibility of river levels rising again with further rain.
Sources: Compiled from Antara photo reporting on October 10, 2026, Jawawa's report citing detikSumut and the Padang disaster agency, and MNC Trijaya's on-site coverage.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 印尼国家搜救局（Basarnas）的搜救直升机，Badan Nasional Penanggulangan Bencana 供图，公共领域（Wikimedia Commons）
