Authorities in Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Thailand are racing to clear debris and find hundreds of missing people after more than 900 died in devastating floods and landslides across the south of Asia.
In the latest example of the impact of the climate crisis on storm patterns and extreme weather, heavy monsoon rains, exacerbated by a tropical storm, have overwhelmed parts of south-east Asia in recent days, leaving thousands of people stranded without shelter or critical supplies.
Meanwhile, in Sri Lanka in south Asia, the death toll from floods and landslides caused by Cyclone Ditwah rose sharply on Sunday to 334, with many more still missing and low-lying areas of the capital, Colombo, under water, authorities said.
It is the worst natural disaster to hit the island in two decades since the devastating 2004 tsunami that killed about 31,000 people there and left more than a million homeless.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who has declared a state of emergency, vowed to build back with international support. “We are facing the largest and most challenging natural disaster in our history,” he said in an address to the nation. “Certainly, we will build a better nation than what existed before.”
In Indonesia, officials said more than 442 people had died and a further 402 were missing as authorities attempted to reach some of the hardest-hit areas of Sumatra island, where thousands of people were stranded without critical supplies.
“The water just rose up into the house and we were afraid, so we fled. Then we came back on Friday, and the house was gone, destroyed,” Afrianti, 41, who only goes by one name, told Reuters in West Sumatra’s capital, Padang, where she was sheltering.
She and her family of nine had made a tent shelter beside the single wall that remained of their home. “My home and business are gone, the shop is gone. Nothing remains. I can only live near this one remaining wall,” she said.
At least two areas of Sumatra island were still unreachable on Sunday, and authorities said they had deployed two warships from Jakarta to deliver aid.
Associated Press reported that some people were struggling to find food and water after deluges triggered landslides, damaged roads and downed communication lines. Videos on social media showed people scrambling past crumbling barricades, flooded roads and broken glass to get their hands on food, medicine and gas. Some waded through waist-deep flood waters to reach damaged convenience stores.
A police spokesperson, Ferry Walintukan, told AP there were reports of people breaking into shops on Saturday evening and that regional police had been deployed. “The looting happened before logistical aid arrived,” Walintukan said. “[Residents] didn’t know that aid would come and were worried they would starve.”
The weather conditions and the lack of heavy equipment also hampered rescue efforts. Aid has been slow to reach the hardest-hit city of Sibolga and Central Tapanuli district in North Sumatra.
In Sungai Nyalo village, about 60 miles (100km) from Padang, flood waters had mostly receded on Sunday, leaving homes, vehicles and crops coated in thick grey mud. Authorities had not yet begun clearing roads, residents told Agence France-Presse, and no outside assistance had arrived.
“Most villagers chose to stay; they didn’t want to leave their houses behind,” said Idris, 55.
Across the island towards the north coast, an endangered Sumatran elephant lay buried in thick mud and debris near damaged buildings in Meureudu town. In North Tapanuli, survivors waved frantically to helicopters carrying aid. Four navy ships docked at a port to support aid distribution.
In Thailand, where at least 162 people were killed in one of the worst floods in a decade, authorities continued to deliver aid and clear the damage. Relief measures rolled out by the Thai government include compensation for households that lost family members. But there has been growing public criticism of Thailand’s flood response, and two local officials have been suspended over their alleged failures.
The annual monsoon season, which typically occurs between June and September, often brings heavy rain, causing landslides and flash floods. This year, a tropical storm has exacerbated conditions, and the tolls in Indonesia and Thailand rank among the highest for floods in those countries in recent years.
The climate crisis has affected storm patterns, including the duration and intensity of the season, leading to heavier rainfall, flash flooding and stronger wind gusts.
In Sri Lanka’s capital on Sunday low-lying areas were flooded after a powerful cyclone brought heavy rains that triggered mudslides across the island, killing hundreds and leaving many more missing. Nearly 148,000 people have been displaced and are housed in temporary shelters.
Officials said the extent of the damage in the worst-affected central region was only just being revealed as relief workers cleared roads blocked by fallen trees and mudslides.
Selvi, 46, a resident of a Colombo suburb, left her flooded home on Sunday, carrying four bags of clothes and valuables. “My house is completely flooded. I don’t know where to go, but I hope there is some safe shelter where I can take my family,” she told Agence France-Presse
Receding water levels in the town of Manampitiya, 155 miles north-east of Colombo, revealed massive destruction. “Manampitiya is a flood-prone town, but I have never seen such a volume of water,” said one 72-year-old resident, S Sivanandan.
He told the local News Centre portal that businesses and property had been extensively damaged. A car had flipped upside down in front of his shop, he said.
A woman in central Wellawaya said she heard a loud noise and went outside to see boulders rolling down a mountainside before stopping near her home. “I saw trees falling and moving with the boulders. We are afraid to go back to our homes,” she told reporters after moving to a shelter.
Authorities say that Cyclone Ditwah, which developed in the sea east of Sri Lanka, is likely to move toward India’s southern coast on Sunday.
With reporting from Reuters, Associated Press and Agence France-Presse
