PADANG: The toll in deadly flooding and landslides across parts of Asia climbed past 1,100 on Monday as hardest-hit Sri Lanka and Indonesia deployed military personnel to help survivors. Separate weather systems brought torrential, extended rainfall to the entire island of Sri Lanka and large parts of Indonesia's Sumatra, southern Thailand and northern Malaysia last week.
Much of the region is currently in its monsoon season but climate change is producing more extreme rain events and turbocharging storms. The relentless rains left residents clinging to rooftops awaiting rescue by boat or helicopter, and cut entire villages off from assistance.
Arriving in North Sumatra on Monday, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto said "the worst has passed, hopefully". The government's "priority now is how to immediately send the necessary aid", with particular focus on several cut-off areas, he added.
In Sri Lanka, the government called for international aid and used military helicopters to reach people stranded by flooding and landslides triggered by Cyclone Ditwah. At least 355 people have been killed, Sri Lankan officials said on Monday, with another 366 still missing.
Floodwaters in the capital Colombo peaked overnight. — AFP
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