JAKARTA — The death toll from floods and landslides triggered by a rare tropical storm in the Malacca Strait climbed past 600 on Monday as Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia struggled to reach tens of thousands of displaced people and account for the missing.
Officials reported 435 deaths in Indonesia, 170 in Thailand and three in Malaysia. Separately, Cyclone Ditwah in the Bay of Bengal killed 153 people in Sri Lanka, with 191 others missing and more than half a million affected nationwide, authorities there said.
- Advertisement -
Rescue teams said heavy rains and powerful winds over the past week cut off large areas, swept away homes and blocked roads, hampering relief. In Indonesia, the government’s updated figures showed the death toll rose to 435 from 303 the previous day as reports came in from Sumatra’s western provinces, where landslides and flooding devastated communities.
“The water just rose up into the house and we were afraid, so we fled,” said Afrianti, 41, who goes by one name, describing the loss of her home and shop in Padang city, West Sumatra. She and eight relatives have sheltered beside the single remaining wall of their house.
Authorities said about 406 people were still missing in Indonesia and some 213,000 displaced. Telecommunications damage left many areas cut off, forcing rescuers to use helicopters and navy choppers to drop food and supplies into football fields and other open sites. A Reuters photographer who flew over the isolated town of Palembayan in West Sumatra saw large tracts of land and homes washed away.
Officials also reported isolated incidents of looting as desperate residents attempted to reach relief supplies.
Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health said flooding in the south had killed 170 people and injured 102. Songkhla province recorded the highest toll, with 131 fatalities. Hat Yai city received 335 millimeters (13 inches) of rain in a single day — its heaviest 24-hour total in about 300 years — officials said.
Malaysia’s national disaster agency said about 18,700 people remained in evacuation centres after last week’s storms. Meteorological authorities lifted tropical storm and continuous rain warnings as skies cleared over much of the country, but foreign ministry officials advised Malaysians to register with consular offices in West Sumatra and reported that more than 6,200 Malaysian nationals had been evacuated from Thailand. A 30-year-old Malaysian was reported missing after a landslide in Indonesia.
Across the Bay of Bengal, Sri Lankan authorities battled rising floodwaters after Cyclone Ditwah, which left entire districts grappling with shortages, search-and-rescue operations and a mounting casualty count.
International and local relief teams continued to prioritize access to cut-off areas, restoring communications and distributing emergency aid as the region moved from rescue to recovery and damage assessments intensified.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
