Floods in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand leave close to 1,000 dead

Torrential rainfall has near Sri Lanka and parts of Indonesia’s Sumatra, confederate Thailand and bluish Malaysia nether water

Flooding and landslides person killed astatine slightest 954 radical successful Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Malaysia pursuing tropical storms successful caller days, with efforts nether mode to assistance thousands affected by the utmost weather.

Arriving successful North Sumatra connected Monday, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto said the government’s precedence was “how to instantly nonstop the indispensable aid”.

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“There are respective isolated villages that, God willing, we tin reach,” Prabowo said, adding that the authorities was deploying helicopters and craft to assistance the alleviation effort.

Prabowo has travel nether expanding unit to state a nationalist exigency successful effect to flooding and landslides that person killed at slightest 442 people, with hundreds much missing.

Unlike his Sri Lankan counterpart, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, Prabowo has truthful acold refrained from publically calling for planetary assistance.

Indonesia’s authorities has sent 2 infirmary ships and 3 warships carrying assistance to immoderate of the worst-hit areas, wherever galore roads stay impassable.

In Sungai Nyalo village, astir 100km (62 miles) from West Sumatra’s superior Padang, floodwaters had mostly receded connected Sunday, leaving homes, vehicles and crops coated successful heavy grey mud.

“Most villagers chose to stay; they didn’t privation to permission their houses behind,” Idris, 55, who, similar galore Indonesians, goes by 1 name, told the AFP quality agency.

Rescue unit locomotion past debris arsenic they evacuate a sick villager to the nearest infirmary successful Bireuen, Aceh province, Indonesia, connected November 29, 2025 [Amanda Jufrian/AFP]

Sri Lanka seeks aid

Meanwhile, successful Sri Lanka, the authorities has called for planetary assistance and is utilizing subject helicopters to scope radical stranded by flooding and landslides triggered by Cyclone Ditwah.

At slightest 334 radical person been killed, Sri Lanka’s catastrophe bureau said connected Sunday, with galore much inactive missing.

A chopper aviator “tragically mislaid his life” portion making an exigency landing “during a ngo to enactment flood-affected communities successful Lunuwila,” northbound of Colombo, Sri Lanka’s Air Force said successful a station connected Facebook connected Monday.

Officials said the grade of harm successful the worst-affected cardinal portion was lone conscionable being revealed arsenic alleviation workers cleared roads blocked by fallen trees and mudslides.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who declared a authorities of exigency to woody with the disaster, pledged to physique back.

“We are facing the largest and astir challenging earthy catastrophe successful our history,” Dissanayake said successful an code to the nation.

“Certainly, we volition physique a amended federation than what existed before.”

Death toll rises successful confederate Thailand

Thai authorities connected Monday said the decease toll from ongoing flooding successful the southbound of the country had risen to astatine slightest 176 people.

The authorities has rolled retired alleviation measures, but determination has been increasing nationalist disapproval of the flood response, and 2 section officials person been suspended implicit their alleged failures, according to AFP.

Across the borderline successful Malaysia, wherever dense rains besides inundated ample stretches of onshore successful Perlis state, 2 radical were killed.

An aerial presumption shows a location surrounded by floodwaters successful Kangar successful bluish Malaysia’s Perlis authorities connected Friday, arsenic terrible flooding affected thousands of radical successful the portion pursuing days of dense rainfall [Mohd Rasfan/AFP]

Year of deadly floods crossed Asia

This week’s floods and landslides are the latest utmost upwind events to devastate Southeast Asian countries successful caller weeks, including two typhoons that deed the Philippines wrong a week of each different past month, sidesplitting astatine slightest 242 people.

The flooding that deed Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia was besides exacerbated by a uncommon tropical tempest that dumped dense rainfall connected Sumatra Island successful particular.

Climate change is expanding the strength and frequence of storms and producing much dense rainfall events due to the fact that a warmer ambiance holds much moisture.