Heavy rains hamper recovery as death toll from floods in Asia exceeds 1,750

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Rescue teams and volunteers person been struggling to assistance millions of radical affected by floods and landslides successful parts of Asia, arsenic the authoritative decease toll from the ongoing climate-fuelled catastrophe has climbed to much than 1,750 radical successful the worst-affected countries of Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

In Indonesia, astatine slightest 867 radical were confirmed dormant and 521 were inactive missing, according to the latest information connected Saturday from the land of Sumatra successful Aceh province, wherever much than 800,000 radical person besides been displaced.

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In Sri Lanka, the authorities has confirmed 607 deaths, with different 214 radical missing and feared dead, successful what President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has called the country’s astir challenging earthy disaster.

The floods besides caused astatine slightest 276 deaths successful Thailand, portion 2 radical were killed successful Malaysia and 2 radical died successful Vietnam aft dense rains triggered much than a twelve landslides, according to authorities media.

On Indonesia’s Sumatra, galore survivors were inactive struggling to retrieve from the flash floods and landslides that deed past week arsenic Indonesia’s meteorological bureau warned Aceh could spot “very dense rain” done Saturday, with North and West Sumatra besides astatine risk.

Aceh Governor Muzakir Manaf said effect teams were inactive searching for bodies successful “waist-deep” mud.

However, starvation was 1 of the gravest threats present hanging implicit distant and inaccessible villages, helium said.

“Many radical request basal necessities. Many areas stay untouched successful the distant areas of Aceh,” helium told reporters.

“People are not dying from the flood, but from starvation. That’s however it is.”

Entire villages had been washed distant successful the rainforest-cloaked Aceh Tamiang region, Muzakir said.

“The Aceh Tamiang portion is wholly destroyed from the apical to the bottom, down to the roads and down to the sea.

“Many villages and sub-districts are present conscionable names,” helium said.

In Sri Lanka, wherever much than 2 cardinal radical – astir 10 percent of the population- person been affected, officials warned connected Friday of continuing dense rains causing caller landslide risks.

Sri Lanka’s Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said much than 71,000 homes were damaged, including astir 5,000 that were destroyed by past week’s floods and landslides.

The DMC said connected Friday that much rainfall was expected successful galore parts of the country, including the worst-affected cardinal region, triggering fears of much landslides, hampering cleanup operations.

epa12566451 Sri Lankan flood-affected radical cleanable their mud- and water-covered location successful a flood-affected colony successful a suburb of Colombo, Sri Lanka, 03 December 2025. According to the Sri Lanka Disaster Management Center, much than 470 radical person been killed, and 376 went missing astir the state owed to the floods caused owed to dense rains. EPA/CHAMILA KARUNARATHNE

Climate change, logging lend to disasters

Last week’s flood came arsenic 2 typhoons and a cyclone swept done the portion astatine the aforesaid time, causing dense rains, which experts told Al Jazeera are becoming much apt owed to clime change.

Illegal logging, often linked to the planetary request for palm oil, besides contributed to the severity of the catastrophe successful Sumatra, wherever photographs of the aftermath showed galore histrion logs washed downstream.

Indonesia is among the countries with the largest yearly wood nonaccomplishment owed to mining, plantations and fires, and has seen the clearance of ample tracts of its lush rainforest successful caller decades.

Indonesia’s Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni said connected Friday that his bureau was revoking the logging licences of 20 companies, covering an country of 750,000 hectares (1.8m acres), including successful flood-affected areas successful Sumatra, Indonesia’s Antara quality bureau reported.

Environment Minister Hanif Faisol Nurofiq besides “immediately” halted the activities of thenar oil, mining, and powerfulness works companies operating upstream of the disaster-hit areas successful bluish Sumatra connected Saturday, according to Antara.

The Batang Toru and Garoga watersheds are strategical areas with ecological and societal functions that indispensable not beryllium compromised,” Hanif said.

Febi Dwirahmadi, Indonesian programme coordinator for the Centre for Environment and Population Health astatine Griffith University successful Australia, told Al Jazeera that rainforest screen “acts similar a sponge” absorbing h2o during dense rainfall.

Following deforestation, which is besides contributing to making clime alteration worse, determination is thing to dilatory down the dense rainfall arsenic it enters waterways, Dwirahmadi said.