Since the floods and landslides triggered by the cyclone devastated Indonesia’s Sumatra island, Abdul Ghani has been carrying a photograph of his wife, seeking help from everyone he encounters.
The 57-year-old, who earns his living by selling soft drinks, has spent countless hours navigating the muddy pathways of his hometown Palembayan, searching tirelessly for his spouse, Marsoni, with whom he has shared 25 years of marriage.
Following the death of their only child seven years ago, Marsoni represents his last connection to family. Unfortunately, his hopes of discovering her whereabouts are dwindling.
“Is she still alive? I don’t believe so,” Ghani expressed. “But I wish they could find her remains, even just a fragment of her hand.”
Abdul Ghani, 57, displays a photograph of his wife Marsoni while searching for her in Palembayan, Indonesia, on Tuesday. (Willy Kurniawan/Reuters)
On Friday afternoon, while Ghani was at work, the rain intensified. Before he could return to his house near the river, he learned from other residents that six homes, including his, had been swept away.
The first thought that crossed his mind was of his wife. Since then, he has been showing her large photograph to those passing by and to the rescue teams sifting through the debris of collapsed structures, where the sounds of voices are drowned out by the roar of excavators.
“When I returned home from work … everything looked like a river,” he recounted. “Everything was destroyed. I was devastated.”
As of Tuesday, the calamity had claimed the lives of 686 individuals in Indonesia, with 476 still unaccounted for. More than one million residents have been evacuated.
This drone footage illustrates the devastation caused by floods and landslides on Indonesia’s Sumatra island. The country has suffered damage to over 28,000 homes, affecting 1.5 million individuals, as reported by Indonesia’s disaster management agency.
The destruction across Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand follows months of severe and deadly weather patterns in Southeast Asia, which have included typhoons impacting the Philippines and Vietnam, resulting in frequent and prolonged flooding in various regions.
Struggling to hold back tears, Ghani expressed his only wish is for his wife to receive a dignified burial.
“I had a wife, and we cherished each other,” he stated. “Now, with no home and no wife, where do I go from here?”
