Severe floods across parts of South and Southeast Asia have prompted Sri Lanka and Indonesia to deploy military forces for large-scale rescue and relief efforts, as the regional death toll approaches 1,000.
Relentless rain from multiple weather systems inundated almost the entire island of Sri Lanka and swathes of Indonesia’s Sumatra, while southern Thailand and northern Malaysia also experienced days of heavy rainfall.
During a visit to flood-hit North Sumatra on Monday, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto said authorities were hopeful that “the worst has passed”, but stressed that the immediate priority was reaching cut-off communities, reports Guardian.
He said several remote villages still had no access to basic supplies.
Pressure has been mounting on the Indonesian leader to declare a national emergency, as floods and landslides have left at least 442 people dead and hundreds unaccounted for.
The current disaster marks the country’s deadliest since the 2018 Sulawesi earthquake and tsunami that claimed more than 2,000 lives. Despite the growing calls for help, Prabowo has yet to request international assistance.
Indonesia’s Ministry of Defense has begun airlifting emergency supplies including food, medicine and essential equipment into Aceh province using Hercules aircraft. The government has also dispatched three warships loaded with relief materials, along with two hospital ships, to regions where road access has been severely disrupted.
In Sri Lanka, the government has appealed for global support as the island struggles with flooding and landslides triggered by Cyclone Ditwah. At least 340 deaths have been confirmed, officials said Monday, with authorities warning that the number could rise.
Colombo saw water levels crest overnight, and with rainfall easing, some businesses cautiously reopened on Monday. However, the full scale of destruction in the central highlands is only now emerging, as rescue teams clear roads buried by trees and mud.
In Ma Oya, north of Colombo, residents described homes filled with mud as water levels began to recede. “The floods are gone, but everything inside is ruined,” said Hasitha Wijewardena, urging the military to help with cleanup efforts.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who has already declared a state of emergency, said the country was confronting “the most severe natural disaster in our history,” and pledged to rebuild stronger. The devastation is the worst Sri Lanka has seen since the 2004 Asian tsunami, which killed around 31,000 people.
By Sunday afternoon, rains had largely stopped, but Colombo’s low-lying districts remained underwater. Military helicopters continued to evacuate stranded families and deliver supplies, though one aircraft crashed north of the capital on Sunday evening.
Selvi, a mother from the Wennawatte area, said she fled her submerged home on Sunday with only a few bags. “Everything is under water. I don’t know where we will stay now, but we need somewhere safe,” she said.
The region is currently in the midst of the monsoon season, but meteorologists note that an unusual tropical system intensified rainfall over Sumatra, worsening conditions across Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia. Scientists warn that the climate crisis is fuelling more frequent and more destructive storms, with warmer air holding greater moisture and producing extreme downpours.
