The death toll from floods and mudslides triggered by one of the country topped 600 today as rescuers struggled to clear roads and improved weather revealed the scale of a disaster that has killed nearly 800 people in southeast Asia.
from a rare tropical storm that formed in the Straits of Malacca causing torrential rain and gusty winds for a week, hampering efforts to reach people stranded by mudslides and high flood waters.
At least 176 people have died in Thailand and three in Malaysia while the death toll in Indonesia reached 604 today with 464 people missing, according to official figures.
Tragic images in Indonesia
Under sunshine and clear blue skies in the city of Palebayan in Indonesia’s West Sumatra, hundreds of people cleared mud, fallen tree trunks and debris from the streets as some residents tried to salvage valuables such as documents and motorbikes from their damaged homes.
Men in camouflage uniforms made their way through wood, concrete and sheet metal as trucks full of people drove by searching for family members and delivering water to people, some of whom were walking slowly through knee-deep mud.
Government recovery efforts include restoring roads, bridges and telecommunications services. More than 28,000 homes have been damaged in Indonesia and 1.5 million people have been affected, according to the disaster management agency.
“Tragic phenomena are frequent”
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto visited the three affected areas today and praised the resilience of residents in the face of what he called the disaster. “There are roads that are still cut, but we are doing everything we can to overcome the difficulties,” he said in North Sumatra. “We face this disaster with strength of soul and solidarity. Our country is strong right now, able to overcome this.”
The devastation in the three countries comes after months of severe and deadly weather in Southeast Asia, including typhoons that swept through 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.
