Hundreds of people are dead and thousands are missing across South East Asia as some of the region’s heaviest rainfall in decades unleashes catastrophic flooding, landslides and devastation from Indonesia to Thailand, Malaysia and Sri Lanka.
Across Indonesia’s Sumatra island, the death toll has climbed past 300, with fears it could rise as dozens remain unaccounted for. Entire communities have been cut off as major roads collapse and electricity and internet services remain only partially restored. Evacuation teams are still battling through debris and deep floodwaters.
Authorities say the flooding is worsened by an exceptionally rare tropical system, Cyclone Senyar, which triggered massive landslides and submerged thousands of homes. In Aceh Province, residents describe torrents arriving “within seconds,” swallowing houses whole.
Arini Amalia said she escaped with her grandmother to higher ground but returned to find their home gone. Meri Osman from West Sumatra said he was swept away by floodwaters and survived only by clinging to a clothesline. Others across Aceh told Reuters that their homes “came down” as water levels surged.
The Indonesian disaster agency says tens of thousands have been evacuated but hundreds remain stranded, particularly in Tapanuli, the worst-hit area, where desperate residents have reportedly ransacked shops for food. Growing public pressure is mounting on Jakarta to declare a national disaster to accelerate relief efforts.
In neighbouring Thailand, the death toll has risen to at least 170 after water levels climbed as high as 3m (10ft) in southern Songkhla province. More than 3.8 million people across 10 provinces have been affected, officials say. Hat Yai recorded 335mm of rain in a single day the heaviest in 300 years overwhelming hospitals, where morgues resorted to using refrigerated trucks for bodies.
Residents accuse authorities of slow response. “We were stuck in the water for seven days and no agency came to help,” Hat Yai resident Thanita Khiawhom said. The government has promised relief, including compensation of up to two million baht ($62,000) for families who lost loved ones.
Malaysia is also reeling from widespread damage, with two deaths recorded in northern Perlis and tens of thousands forced into emergency shelters after floodwaters submerged entire districts.
Elsewhere in Asia, Sri Lanka is confronting its own deadly disaster after Cyclone Ditwah tore through the island. At least 193 people are confirmed dead, more than 200 are missing, and over 15,000 homes have been destroyed. With one-third of the country without electricity or running water, the government has declared a state of emergency and opened shelters for at least 78,000 displaced people.
Meteorologists say the extreme conditions across the region may be linked to an unusual interaction between Typhoon Koto currently moving toward Vietnam and the rare formation of Cyclone Senyar in the Malacca Strait. Vietnam has already reported three deaths and one missing person as Koto approaches.
While experts caution that individual disasters cannot be directly attributed to climate change, scientists agree that rising global temperatures are intensifying storms, driving heavier rainfall, stronger winds and more frequent flash flooding.
South East Asia’s monsoon season typically brings heavy rain between June and September, but officials across the region say this year’s rains are far beyond historical norms with devastating consequences still unfolding.
Erizia Rubyjeana
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