Floods and landslides across Asia have killed over 1,100 people, with Sri Lanka and Indonesia deploying military assets for rescue and relief operations
PADANG: The death toll from catastrophic flooding and landslides across parts of Asia has surpassed 1,100.
Hardest-hit Sri Lanka and Indonesia deployed military personnel on Monday to assist survivors as the scale of the disaster became clear.
Separate weather systems brought torrential, extended rainfall to Sri Lanka and large parts of Indonesia’s Sumatra, southern Thailand and northern Malaysia last week.
Climate change is producing more extreme rain events, exacerbating the region’s annual monsoon season.
The relentless rains left residents clinging to rooftops awaiting rescue by boat or helicopter.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto visited North Sumatra on Monday, stating “the worst has passed, hopefully”.
His government’s priority is to “immediately send the necessary aid”, with a focus on several cut-off areas.
Prabowo faces increasing pressure to declare a national emergency in response to flooding that has killed at least 593 people, with nearly 470 still missing.
The government has sent three warships carrying aid and two hospital ships to some of the worst-hit areas.
In North Aceh, 28-year-old Misbahul Munir described walking through neck-high water to reach his parents.
“Everything in the house was destroyed because it was submerged,” he told AFP.
In Sri Lanka, the government called for international aid and used military helicopters to reach people stranded by Cyclone Ditwah.
Officials confirmed at least 355 people have been killed, with another 366 still missing.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake declared a state of emergency, calling the flooding the “largest and most challenging natural disaster in our history”.
Floodwaters in the capital Colombo peaked overnight, with some shops and offices reopening as rains stopped.
Delivery driver Dinusha Sanjaya, 37, said the scale was unprecedented.
“Every year we experience minor floods, but this is something else,” he told AFP.
Officials said the extent of damage in the central region was only just being revealed as workers cleared blocked roads.
One military helicopter deployed for relief crashed north of Colombo on Sunday, killing the pilot.
The flooding in Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia was exacerbated by a rare tropical storm that dumped heavy rain on Sumatra.
Authorities in Thailand confirmed at least 176 people were killed in southern regions.
The Thai government has rolled out relief measures amid growing public criticism of its flood response.
Two local officials have been suspended over their alleged failures.
In Malaysia, heavy rains inundated large stretches of land in Perlis state, killing two people. – AFP
