政府动员超过50,000名军人与人员投入，但前线需求仍巨大：临时安置点缺乏流动厕所，泥沙与漂木清理设备不足；主要道路不通、供电不稳，长期接触泥水导致皮肤病增加。地方政府因财政缩减而更难应对：为推动学童免费餐食，地方年度拨款今年下调7.8%，BNPB预算更被腰斩。
在未宣布「国家级灾害」下，外援通常须走一般通关并可能课税，邻国政府早期的援助提议也遭回绝。两起高调拒援引发反弹后，中央才松口接受部分境外民间／私部门物资：例如阿联红新月会的稻米，以及马来西亚商界捐赠中约10亿印尼盾（约6万美元）的医疗物资；同时可能允许联合国机构提供有限协助，但仍不收外国政府的官方援助。批评者主张应以苦难规模优先；另有官员私下担心宣布紧急状态会引发旅游警示、冲击圣诞旺季。
Cyclone Senyar hit Sumatra in late November; nearly a month later about 500,000 people still cannot return home, with 1,135 dead and more than 7,000 injured, and hundreds of hospitals, schools, bridges and roads unusable. President Prabowo frames the response as a test of national strength, says funds are available, and stresses that only 3 of Indonesia’s 38 provinces were affected and that state agencies can fly supplies in daily.
The government has deployed more than 50,000 soldiers and personnel, yet unmet needs remain: shelters lack portable toilets, debris-clearing equipment is scarce, key roads are impassable, electricity is unstable, and prolonged exposure to muddy water is linked to skin disease. Local capacity is also weaker after budget cuts: regional funding was reduced 7.8% this year and the national disaster agency’s (BNPB) budget was halved.
By not declaring a national disaster, foreign supplies generally face normal customs processing and tariffs, and early offers from neighboring governments were rebuffed. After backlash over rejecting UAE rice and dismissing Malaysian donations worth about 1 billion rupiah (around $60,000), Jakarta has opened a narrow channel for some NGO/private shipments and limited UN support, while still refusing official foreign-government aid. Critics argue the scale warrants a declaration; some officials privately fear travel advisories and Christmas-peak cancellations.
