European Union brings relief to victims of floods in Indonesia

Jakarta, 12 December 2025 – The European Union is allocating €100,000 (nearly two billion Indonesia rupiah) to provide emergency humanitarian assistance to families affected by the widespread flooding that has ravaged in Indonesia over the past weeks. The aid will benefit almost 60,000 people in some of the most affected regions, particularly in Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra provinces. This funding came on top of the €300,000 that was released earlier this week as part of a regional package. 

This EU funding will support the Indonesian Red Cross Society in distributing life-saving assistance, including emergency shelter items, essential household items as well as clean water and sanitation facilities. Basic health and first aid services will also be delivered. In addition, the aid provides cash grants to those most in need. 

The funding is part of the EU’s overall contribution to the Disaster Response Emergency Fund (DREF) of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

Heavy rainfall since late November has triggered strong winds, severe floods and landslides across Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra, affecting over three million people. Considered one of the region’s worst floodings in the last decade, the flooding has so far killed almost 1,000 people, 222 missing whilst leaving over 5,000 others injured and one million displaced in 34 districts according to the authorities. The extreme weather caused significant damage to more than 157,000 homes, some 1,200 public facilities and vital infrastructure, rendering some areas inaccessible. Prolonged inundation contaminated rivers, shallow wells, and water storage, while latrines have been flooded or unusable.

Background 

The European Union and its Member States are the world's leading donor of humanitarian aid. Relief assistance is an expression of European solidarity with people in need all around the world. It aims to save lives, prevent and alleviate human suffering, and safeguard the integrity and human dignity of populations affected by natural hazards and man-made crises.

Through its Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations department, the European Union helps millions of victims of conflict and disasters every year. With headquarters in Brussels and a global network of field offices, the European Union provides assistance to the most vulnerable people on the basis of humanitarian needs.

The Disaster Response Emergency Fund was established in 1979 and is supported by contributions from donors. Each time a National Red Cross or Red Crescent Society needs immediate financial support to respond to a disaster, it can request funds from the IFRC-DREF.  The delegation agreement between the IFRC and the EU enables the latter to replenish the IFRC-DREF for agreed operations within its humanitarian mandate up to a total of €16 million in 2025.