The death toll from devastating floods and landslides across Asia climbed past 1,000 on Monday, with Sri Lanka and Indonesia deploying military personnel to aid survivors in what officials described as the worst disasters in decades.
Separate weather systems brought days of torrential rainfall to Sri Lanka, Indonesia’s Sumatra, southern Thailand, and northern Malaysia. While the region is in its monsoon season, experts say climate change is intensifying storms and producing more extreme rain events.
In Indonesia, President Prabowo Subianto visited North Sumatra, where at least 502 people have died and more than 500 remain missing. He said the government’s priority was delivering aid to cut-off areas, though he has resisted calls to declare a national emergency or seek international assistance. The disaster is Indonesia’s deadliest since the 2018 Sulawesi earthquake and tsunami that killed more than 2,000 people. Warships and hospital ships have been dispatched to reach isolated communities, with roads still impassable. Survivors described losing everything as floodwaters rose to neck level.
Sri Lanka has reported at least 355 deaths and 366 missing after Cyclone Ditwah triggered widespread flooding and landslides. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake declared a state of emergency, calling the disaster the “largest and most challenging” in the country’s history since the 2004 tsunami. Military helicopters have been airlifting stranded residents and delivering food, though one crashed north of Colombo on Sunday, killing the pilot. Floodwaters in the capital peaked overnight, with some shops reopening as waters began to recede.
Southern Thailand has also been hit hard, with at least 176 deaths in one of the country’s worst flood incidents in a decade. Public anger has mounted over the government’s response, leading to the suspension of two local officials. In Malaysia’s Perlis state, two people were killed as heavy rains inundated large areas.
Officials across the region warn that the full extent of the damage is only beginning to emerge as relief workers clear blocked roads and reach isolated communities.
