Severe floods and landslides in the provinces of North Sumatra, West Sumatra and Aceh in November, which killed more than 1,000 people, carried a bitter irony for Indonesia. Aceh, one of the hardest-hit provinces, had once been the epicentre of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami — a catastrophe that claimed more than 221,000 lives in Indonesia alone and became a turning point in the nation’s approach to disaster preparedness.

In the aftermath of that tragedy, Indonesia invested heavily in early warning systems, community education, and international cooperation, with Aceh often cited as a symbol of resilience and recovery. The tsunami was supposed to be the defining lesson: that preparedness and mitigation could save lives.

Yet two decades later, the recent floods and landslides revealed how fragile those lessons remain in practice. Indonesia’s meteorological agency (BMKG) had issued clear warnings 10 days before the disaster, forecasting extreme rainfall and heightened risks of flooding and landslides. But the translation of those warnings into protective action faltered. Evacuation plans were either poorly communicated or underdeveloped, and many communities lacked the infrastructure and resources to respond. Roads collapsed, bridges were washed away, and villages were cut off, leaving residents stranded despite knowing the danger was coming.

The contrast between Aceh’s legacy of the 2004 tsunami and its vulnerability in 2025 underscores a troubling reality: preparedness is not a one-time achievement but a continuous process. While Indonesia built systems and institutions after the tsunami, enforcement of land-use regulations, investment in resilient infrastructure, and community-level readiness have not kept pace with environmental degradation and climate volatility. Deforestation and watershed destruction magnified the impact of the rains, turning the Met Office’s accurate forecasts into tragic inevitabilities.

The disaster also highlighted critical gaps in preparedness. While the National Disaster Management........

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