Parapat Flash Flood Due to Forest Damage, Lake Toba Tourism Emergency Alarm

Flash floods have damaged the heart of Lake Toba tourism in the Parapat area, Simalungun Regency, North Sumatra. Tourism activities have been paralyzed for five days. The ecological disaster was caused by forest damage in the upstream of Lake Toba.

The flash flood hit tourist destinations, hotels, restaurants, hospitals, residential areas, and temporarily paralyzed the national road. As of Thursday (3/20/2025), the Parapat tourism area is still paralyzed.

Several restaurants, eateries, and hotels are not yet operational. People are also still busy cleaning up mud material inside their homes.

The North Sumatra Civil Society Advocacy Network (Jamsu) conducted an investigation to find the cause of the flash flood. Jamsu consists of the Community Initiative Study and Development Group (KSPPM), the Tano Batak Indigenous Peoples Alliance (AMAN), and Auriga Nusantara.

"The results of our investigation, the flash flood was caused by the loss of 6,148 hectares of natural forest in the upstream Parapat," said KSPPM Executive Director Rocky Pasaribu.

Flash floods and landslides hit the Parapat tourism area, Sunday (3/16/2025) night. The Trans-Sumatra Highway in the area was paralyzed due to being buried by rocks and mud. The national road was also buried by landslides. The road was finally passable on Monday (3/17) morning.

Flash floods hit the Trans-Sumatra Highway around Parapat Free Beach, including the Parapat Regional General Hospital (RSUD). After the water receded, half a meter of mud piled up on roads, houses, hotels and restaurants.

Rocky said that the flash flood that hit the heart of the Lake Toba tourism area was an emergency alarm warning of quite massive environmental damage. Parapat is a destination and one of the main entrances to the Lake Toba area.

Based on spatial analysis and field research, Rocky said, in the last 20 years there has been significant forest clearing in five sub-districts around Parapat, namely Girsang Sipangan Bolon, Dolok Panribuan, Pematang Sidamanik, Hatoguan, and Jorlang Hataran. The five sub-districts are the Bolon Simalungun River Basin (DAS) landscape.

In 2000, natural forest cover in the area reached 10,348 hectares. However, this figure continues to shrink to 3,614 hectares in 2023. The largest loss of forest cover occurred in 2005-2010, namely 2,779 hectares of forest lost.

In the period 2010-2025, there was another loss of forest cover of 2,366 hectares. Rocky stated that significant loss of forest cover also occurred in the industrial forest concession area of PT Toba Pulp Lestari.

"If accumulated from 2000 to 2023, this area has lost 6,148 hectares of natural forest. This change greatly affects the capacity of rainwater and soil stability which ultimately causes ecological disasters of flash floods," said Rocky.

He also assessed that the Parapat flash flood showed the negligence of the local government in supervising spatial planning in the Bolon Simalungun watershed area. Land clearing in the watershed area and steep areas have contributed to the recurring disasters in Parapat.

According to Rocky, the flash flood was indeed triggered by waterlogging in the upper reaches of the Gaga River. However, the waterlogging would not have occurred if the forest cover was still good. Forests play an important role in the water cycle to capture and store rainwater.

Jamsu Coordinator Juniati Aritonang said the government must mitigate ecological disasters in the short and long term. The urgent thing to do is evaluate the spatial planning of the Lake Toba area, especially in disaster-prone areas.

In recent years, when the rainy season arrives, flash floods have occurred almost evenly around the Lake Toba area, namely Karo, Samosir, Humbang Hasundutan, North Tapanuli, Dairi, and Toba Regencies. The ecological disaster has claimed lives and caused significant material losses.

Meanwhile, during the dry season, the rivers dry up, making it difficult for people to get raw water for household needs or water for irrigating rice fields. This happens because the forests in the upstream areas have been damaged so they can no longer store water during the rainy season and flow it during the dry season.

In Kompas' records, flash floods with quite large impacts occurred in Simangulampe Village, Baktiraja District, Humbang Hasundutan Regency, in December 2023. Two people died and 10 were missing due to the flash flood. A village was also lost buried under rocks and mud.

Ephourus Huria Kristen Batak Protestan (HKBP) Reverend Victor Tinambunan said, the Parapat flash flood was clearly the result of human actions. "The Parapat flash flood was not a test from God or a handwritten letter. This disaster was the result of human actions that damaged God's creation," he said.

Victor said that environmental damage and ecological disasters are of particular concern to HKBP, especially those occurring in the Lake Toba area.

Head of the North Sumatra Environment and Forestry Service Yuliani Siregar said her team conducted a field review after the Parapat flash flood. "Our team traced the Gaga River from downstream where the disaster occurred to the starting point of the rock landslide upstream," she said.

Along the review location, Yuliani said, the team did not find any illegal logging, C mining, or other illegal activities. "The condition of the protected forest area around the disaster location is still relatively good and in the forest area which is the headwaters of the river there is no concession of PT Toba Pulp Lestari," he said.

Yuliani said that natural disasters such as floods and rock landslides were caused by high rainfall intensity. In the upper reaches of the Gaga River, there was a collection of water that was held back in the river valley with a large volume.

"The puddle then overflowed with a large discharge, carrying the material above it into the residential area," said Yuliani.

According to Yuliani, the North Sumatra Provincial Government will make a number of efforts to prevent flash floods in the area. These efforts include planting trees together with the surrounding community at the location with productive plant species. Another effort is improving the river flow through river normalization activities.

The Parapat flash flood was not a test from God or a handwritten letter. This disaster was the result of human actions that damaged God's creation.