JAKARTA, Dec 15 (Reuters) – Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto said on Monday that activities in areas on Sumatra that were hit by deadly floods may return to normal in the next two to three months, after a disaster that claimed more than 1,000 lives.
The death toll from the cyclone-induced floods and landslides, which destroyed houses and forced people into evacuation centres on Sumatra in late November, reached 1,030 as of Monday, with 206 people still missing, according to official data.
The storms also killed about 200 people in southern Thailand and Malaysia.
Prabowo told a cabinet meeting on Monday that reconstruction in the three affected provinces was already underway, adding that he had already apologised because authorities could not realistically complete the process in a matter of days.
“I don’t have the staff of Moses,” he said, referring to the biblical figure’s ability to perform miracles. “We cannot finish this in 3-5 days. Perhaps in 2-3 months, activities will return to normal.”
Prabowo said authorities would soon build hundreds of temporary homes for those displaced. Reconstruction on Sumatra is expected to cost at least $3.11 billion, senior government officials have said.
Green groups say deforestation linked to mining and logging exacerbated the impact of the floods.
Indonesia’s environment ministry has temporarily halted the operations of the companies accused of violations, and that it will require them to perform environmental audits.
Prabowo on Monday said any company found in an audit to have violated rules should have its permit revoked.
Indonesia’s forest minister said earlier on Monday that the country will revoke 22 forest use permits covering over 1 million hectares.
The revoked permits included more than 100,000 hectares on Sumatra, but the minister did not link the revocation directly to the floods.
Prabowo also said on Monday that the situation on Sumatra was under control, adding that foreign leaders had offered aid.
“I said, thanks for your concern, we can handle it,” he said.
(Reporting by Stanley Widianto and Stefanno Sulaiman; Editing by David Stanway)
