Jakarta (ANTARA) – Home Affairs Minister Muhammad Tito Karnavian emphasized that the government is continuing to accelerate post-disaster recovery efforts in Sumatra by strengthening collaboration between regional governments.He asserted that the central government will continue to encourage regional governments to assist neighboring regions that were severely impacted and sustained heavy damage.”Based on the latest update this morning, three regions have committed to assisting the affected areas, namely Simalungun, Asahan, and Pematangsiantar,” he said in a press conference in Jakarta on Wednesday, according to a statement.The minister explained that this collaborative initiative emerged following an additional budget allocation of Rp10.6 trillion from the President for regional transfers to accelerate disaster relief efforts.The budget will be distributed to all districts and cities across the three affected provinces—Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra—including those not directly affected by the disasters.To this end, the central government appealed to governments of regions that are relatively safe or unaffected—but still receiving budget allocations—to be willing to share a portion of their funds with neighboring regions.This step is deemed vital for strengthening the capacity of regions with a high level of damage and limited budgets, such as Aceh Tamiang District.”We hope these severely affected regions will have additional funds so they can resolve their issues,” said Karnavian, who is concurrently serving as chair of the Sumatra Post-Disaster Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Acceleration Task Force.Furthermore, the minister stated that completing post-disaster rehabilitation and reconstruction across the three provinces is estimated to take up to three years.The construction efforts focus on providing permanent housing, building permanent infrastructure—such as bridges and roads—and restoring basic services.Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra were previously hit by heavy rainfall-triggered floods and landslides in late November 2025.According to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) records, the disasters claimed 1,207 lives and damaged over 300,000 homes.