Sumatran Elephants Help Clean Up Disaster Sites in Aceh

PIDIE JAYA, KOMPAS - Four Sumatran elephants belonging to the Aceh Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) have been deployed to assist in opening land access between villages that are still blocked by debris from the disaster in Pidie Jaya Regency, Aceh. This effort is expected to help expedite the recovery process in the affected areas and the distribution of aid to isolated regions.

The elephants were brought in from the Elephant Training Center (PLG) Saree in Aceh Besar Regency. The elephants were transported by truck on Sunday (7/12/2025) afternoon and arrived in Pidie Jaya on Sunday night.

On Monday (8/12/2025) morning, they began operations to help open up land access between villages that remain disconnected in several villages in the Meurah Dua and Meureudu sub-districts in Pidie Jaya.

"These elephants are trained elephants with experience in assisting at disaster sites. Previously, these elephants helped in the search for victims and the clearing of debris that blocked access roads following the tsunami that struck Aceh in 2004," said Hadi Sofyan, Head of the Sigli Region of the Aceh BKSDA.

Upon arriving at a location in Meunasah Bie Village, Meurah Dua, the elephants ridden by the mahouts made their way to a narrow access road situated among the residents' homes. They walked approximately 200 meters from the inter-district road to the site, which was obstructed by piles of tree trunks carried by flash floods.

The elephants were instructed to remove sufficiently large tree trunks to the roadside. The accumulation of these tree trunks connects the settlements in Meunasah Bie.

We will send elephants to locations that still need them.

Due to the pile of tree trunks, several settlements within the Meunasah Bie area cannot be accessed by land vehicles or heavy machinery. This complicates the recovery process in those settlements.

Hadi stated that the deployment of four elephants was initiated by the Aceh BKSDA and resulted from coordination with related parties, including the police. The elephants were deployed to assist in the cleanup as officials faced difficulties in clearing the debris from the flood in several access routes between the affected villages.

Heavy machinery cannot possibly enter the area due to the narrow access roads. In addition, the vibrations from the movement of heavy equipment while working pose a risk to the structures of residents' houses, which have already become vulnerable after being struck by disaster.

For the time being, the elephants will focus on working in several villages in Meurah Dua and Meureudu, Pidie Jaya for the next 7 days. If conditions permit and their assistance is still needed, it is possible that the elephants will be deployed to affected areas in other districts/cities.

"Currently, the land access between districts/cities has not fully recovered, particularly from Pidie Jaya to Bireuen. This complicates the process of transporting elephants to other districts/cities. However, if access has indeed recovered, we will send elephants to locations that still require them," said Hadi.

The Head of the Criminal Investigation Unit of the Pidie Jaya Police, Inspector One Fauzi Atmaja, stated that the presence of elephants is crucial for the expedited removal of debris carried by flash floods along the access roads between villages and residential areas in the village. This is because the access roads between villages are narrow and cannot be accessed by heavy machinery.

At least, so far, there are three villages in Meurah Dua and five villages in Meureudu that cannot be accessed by heavy machinery. If forced to enter, the heavy machinery risks damaging the houses of the residents in the vicinity. Conversely, if the piles of materials are not cleared promptly, it will hinder the recovery process of the residents' activities there.

"In addition to accelerating the recovery of activities, the opening of access roads between villages can also facilitate the distribution of aid. This is because there are several villages that are still difficult to access due to roads leading to those areas being blocked by piles of materials," said Fauzi.

Fauzi stated that the cleaning process carried out by the elephants could potentially assist in locating victims who may still be buried under the piles of material. "That could happen. Because, until now, we do not know what is contained within those piles of material," he revealed.

Residents of Meunasah Bie, Nurma (61) stated that due to the remaining piles of material, water stagnation cannot flow away from several houses, including her own. This situation has prevented Nurma and hundreds of other residents from returning to their respective homes. So far, they are still taking refuge in evacuation posts along the inter-district road not far from the village.

As a result of days spent sleeping or resting inadequately at the evacuation posts, many residents have begun to complain of illness. The most common ailments reported include flu, fever, and sore throat. The flu and fever are believed to be caused by refugees sleeping in piles in relatively open or non-enclosed spaces.

The throat inflammation is suspected to be caused by refugees continuously being exposed to street dust. The dust originates from the remnants of disaster mud that has dried but has not been completely cleaned. "Therefore, we sincerely hope that the cleaning of the material piles by these elephants can quickly restore the settlement so that we can return home soon," said Nurma.

Based on the Hydrometeorological Natural Disaster Mitigation Data Monitoring Report at the Integrated Command Post of the Aceh Government as of Sunday at 8:00 PM WIB, the number of fatalities has reached 382 individuals, with 99 people reported missing, 482 individuals severely injured, and 3,789 individuals with minor injuries.

The disaster in Aceh has caused 269,448 households (KK) or 945,434 individuals to be displaced. They are spread across 1,978 evacuation points. In total, there are 464,432 households or 1,872,419 individuals affected by the Aceh disaster, distributed across 3,658 villages in 225 sub-districts across 18 districts/cities.

By all means, the joint team in the field continues to try to open road access that is still cut off.

Residents in the evacuation centers are unable to return home because their houses are still inundated with remnants of disaster materials or damaged. It is recorded that there are 156,404 damaged houses along with 65,105 hectares of rice fields, 14,741 hectares of garden areas, and 40,328 hectares of fish ponds.

The recovery process has not been optimal due to the many damaged land access roads and bridges. At least 461 road points and 332 bridge units have sustained damage, making access to and from the affected locations still difficult to traverse or penetrate.

"By all means, the joint team in the field continues to strive to open the access roads that are still cut off. The process of opening access is carried out through cleaning, repairs, and the provision of emergency facilities and infrastructure. This is a top priority as it significantly affects the acceleration of aid distribution and recovery in the affected areas," explained the Spokesperson for the Aceh Hydrometeorological Disaster Emergency Response Post, Murthalamuddin, on several occasions.