Farmers and fabric weavers on Indonesia's Sumatra Island are facing dire challenges as recent floods and landslides have destroyed their farmland and blocked roads.
The death toll from across three provinces on Sumatra Island has risen to 770, with 463 people still missing, according to Indonesia's National Disaster Mitigation Agency on Wednesday.
In North Tapanuli, farmers have completely lost their crop fields in this disaster, leaving them without income for the rest of the year.
"We saw our crop fields destroyed; our friend's water pipes destroyed. Some rice can't be harvested. Some crops were harvest-ready, some not -- everything was destroyed," said Juni Eben Situmeang, a local farmer.
Before the floods, Situmeang earned over 500 U.S. dollars from a single harvest. However, what should have been the peak harvest season has instead turned into total loss, as flash floods swept through and wiped out his crops completely.
"We don't want to live here anymore as we are surrounded by these two hills on the left and right. We're traumatized," said Situmeang.
It'll take the farmers at least a year to restore their crop fields, and then another year before they can harvest again.
Many women in the area are resorting to weaving traditional fabrics known as ulos to earn money and support their families.
"We can't continue our work because of the flash floods," said Risma Hutagalung, a ulos weaver.
Typically, the ulos weavers sell these fabrics to middlemen in the nearby town, making around 240 U.S. dollars per month.
However, due to the ongoing floods and landslides, Hutagalung feels it's too risky to make the 45-minute journey to sell her goods. With no income left, she and her husband are now relying on the local relief post for basic supplies.
Farmers in Indonesia's Sumatra face dire challenges after floods, landslides
