Rescue teams in western Indonesia, a country with a population of more than 283 million, struggled on Monday to clear roads cut off by landslides and floods caused by a typhoon, while improving weather provided a better view of the scale of the disaster whose victims have already exceeded 1,000 dead in Southeast Asia.
Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand suffered widespread devastation after a rare tropical storm formed in the Strait of Malacca and unleashed torrential rains and gusty winds over a week, complicating efforts to reach people trapped by mudslides and floodwaters. In Sri Lanka, Cyclone Ditwa, accompanied by strong winds and heavy rains, caused the worst floods in a decade when it struck the country on Friday, triggering landslides in the central mountainous region.
At least 176 people have died in Thailand and three in Malaysia, while the death toll in Indonesia rose to 502 on Monday, with 508 still missing, according to official figures. In Sri Lanka, the number of deaths rose to 355 people and those missing to 366 people.
In Indonesia, more than 28,000 homes were damaged
Under bright sun and clear blue skies in the town of Palembyan in Indonesia’s West Sumatra province, hundreds of people cleared mud, trees and debris from roads, while some residents tried to salvage documents, motorcycles and other valuables from their damaged homes.
Workers inspected piles of twisted columns, concrete blocks and metal sheets, while trucks full of people scoured the area searching for missing relatives and distributing water to people wading through knee-deep mud.
The government’s recovery efforts include restoration of roads, bridges and communications services. More than 28,000 homes were damaged in Indonesia and 1.4 million people were affected, according to the disaster management agency.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto visited the three rain-hit provinces on Monday and praised residents for their morale. “We are facing this disaster with resilience and solidarity. Our nation is now strong and capable of overcoming this,” he said.
The devastation comes after months of severe and deadly weather in Southeast Asia, including typhoons that struck the Philippines and Vietnam and caused frequent and prolonged flooding elsewhere. Scientists have warned that extreme weather events will become more frequent as a result of global warming.
In Thailand, three million were affected
In Thailand, the death toll rose slightly to 176 on Monday (compared to 162 on Sunday) due to floods in eight southern provinces, affecting about three million people and prompting a major mobilization of the army to evacuate patients in critical condition from hospitals and reach people isolated for several days.
In Songkhla Province, the worst-hit province, where 138 people died, the government reported that 85% of water service had already been restored and would operate at full capacity on Wednesday.
Much of Thailand’s recovery effort has focused on the hardest-hit city, Hat Yai, a southern market town that received 335mm of rain on November 21 – its highest daily record in 300 years – followed by days of continuous rain.
A government spokesman said on Monday that the Prime Minister of this country with a population of 71.6 million people, Anutin Charnvirakul, set a seven-day deadline for residents to return to their homes.
In neighboring Malaysia, 11,600 people remain in evacuation centres, according to the National Disaster Response Agency, which said it remained on alert for a second and third wave of flooding.
Sri Lanka’s schools remain closed
Rescue teams in Sri Lanka are rushing today, Monday, to clear roads and deliver aid to more than half a million people affected by last week’s hurricane, while the death toll has risen to 355 people, while 366 are still missing, according to official figures.
Officials reported that train and flight services had resumed after last week’s disturbances, although schools remained closed.
The Meteorological Service said in a statement: “It is very likely that (the storm) will move northward away from the island and weaken further.”
This is the first time that the entire country, with a population of 23 million, has been affected by a natural disaster of this magnitude, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake announced on Sunday, describing it as “the largest and most challenging” in Sri Lanka’s history.