Authorities in Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Thailand are rushing to clear debris and find hundreds of missing people after more than 900 people were killed. devastating floods and landslides in southern Asia.
The latest example of the impact of the climate crisis on storm patterns and extreme weather is the torrential monsoon rains, exacerbated by a tropical storm, that have lashed parts of Southeast Asia in recent days, leaving thousands without shelter and vital supplies.
Meanwhile, in Sri Lanka in South Asia, the death toll from floods and landslides has risen. caused by Cyclone Ditwa The tally rose sharply to 334 on Sunday, with many still missing and low-lying areas of the capital Colombo underwater, authorities said.
It is the worst natural disaster to hit the island in two decades since the devastating 2004 tsunami that killed some 31,000 people and left more than a million homeless.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who declared a state of emergency, vowed to restore the situation with international support. “We are facing the largest and most complex natural disaster in our history,” he said in an address to the nation. “Of course we will build a better nation than the one that existed before.”
IN IndonesiaOfficials said more than 442 people were killed and another 402 were missing as authorities tried to reach some of the worst-hit areas on Sumatra island, where thousands of people were stranded without vital supplies.
“The water just came up into the house and we got scared, so we ran. Then we came back on Friday and the house was gone, destroyed,” Afrianti, 41, who goes by only one name, told Reuters in the West Sumatra capital of Padang, where she was taking shelter.
She and her family of nine built a tent near the only wall left of their home. “My home and business are gone, the store is gone. There's nothing left. I can only live next to this one remaining wall,” she said.
At least two areas of Sumatra island were still inaccessible on Sunday and authorities said they had dispatched two warships from Jakarta to deliver aid.
The Associated Press reported that some people were struggling to find food and water after floods caused landslides, damaged roads and brought down communication lines. Videos on social media showed people scrambling past collapsing barricades, flooded roads and broken glass to get food, medicine and gasoline. Some waded through waist-deep floodwaters to reach damaged stores.
Police spokesman Ferry Valintukan told the AP that there were reports of people breaking into stores on Saturday night and that regional police were deployed. “The robbery occurred before logistical assistance arrived,” Valintukan said. “[Residents] they didn’t know that help would come, and they were afraid that they would die of hunger.”
Rescue efforts were also hampered by weather conditions and the lack of heavy equipment. Aid was slow to reach the worst-hit town of Sibolga and the central Tapanuli region in North Sumatra.
In the village of Sungai Nyalo, about 60 miles (100 km) from Padang, floodwaters had mostly receded on Sunday, leaving homes, vehicles and crops covered in thick gray mud. Authorities have not yet begun clearing roads, residents told AFP, and no outside help has arrived.
“Most of the villagers chose to stay; they didn’t want to leave their homes,” said 55-year-old Idris.
At the other end of the island, closer to the northern coast, the critically endangered Sumatran elephant lay buried in thick mud and debris near damaged buildings in the town of Mereudu. In North Tapanuli, survivors desperately waved to helicopters carrying humanitarian aid. Four warships docked at the port to help distribute humanitarian aid.
IN Thailandwhere at least 162 people died in some of the worst flooding in a decade, authorities continued to deliver aid and repair damage. Relief measures taken by the Thai government include compensation for families who have lost family members. But public criticism of Thailand's flood response is growing, and two local officials have been removed from office over perceived failures.
The annual monsoon season, which typically falls between June and September, often brings heavy rainfall that causes landslides and flash floods. This year, a tropical storm has worsened the situation, and flood losses in Indonesia and Thailand are among the highest in recent years for those countries.
The climate crisis has affected storm patterns, including the length and intensity of the season, leading to heavier rainfall, flash flooding and stronger wind gusts.
Low-lying areas in the Sri Lankan capital on Sunday were flooded after a powerful cyclone brought torrential rains that caused landslides across the island, leaving hundreds of people dead and many missing. Some 148,000 people were displaced and housed in temporary shelters.
Officials said the extent of the damage in the worst-hit central region was just emerging as aid workers cleared roads blocked by fallen trees and landslides.
Selvi, 46, a resident of a Colombo suburb, emerged from her flooded house on Sunday carrying four bags containing 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 AFP.
Reduced water levels in the town of Manampitiya, 155 miles northeast of Colombo, have caused widespread destruction. “Manampitiya is a flood-prone town, but I have never seen so much water,” said one 72-year-old resident, S. Sivanandan.
He told the local News Center that businesses and property suffered extensive damage. According to him, a car overturned in front of his store.
A woman in central Wellawaya said she heard a loud noise and went outside to see boulders rolling down the mountainside before stopping outside her home. “I saw trees falling and moving along with boulders. We are afraid to return to our homes,” she told reporters after moving to the shelter.
Authorities say Cyclone Ditwa, which developed in the sea east of Sri Lankalikely to move towards the southern coast of India on Sunday.
Based on materials from Reuters, Associated Press and Agence France-Presse.
