- Deadly storms across Asia have killed over 900 people with hundreds missing.
- Cyclone Senyar caused catastrophic damage in Indonesia, killing 435 and leaving 406 missing.
- Thailand, Sri Lanka and Malaysia experienced severe impacts with significant casualties and evacuations.
SUMATRA, Indonesia — Heavy rainfall has unleashed widespread flooding and landslides across Asia, killing more than 900 people with hundreds still missing.
Cyclone-fueled downpours battered parts of Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia this week when a rare tropical storm formed in the Malacca Strait — a narrow waterway separating the Indonesian island of Sumatra from the other two nations.
Sri Lanka was struck by a separate storm from which heavy rains are now approaching India's southern coast.
The severe weather has claimed the lives of at least 435 people in Indonesia, 334 in Sri Lanka, 162 in Thailand and two in Malaysia, officials told the Reuters news agency.
In Indonesia
Indonesian rescue teams are struggling to reach the hardest-hit areas of Sumatra, where Cyclone Senyar caused catastrophic landslides and flooding.
At least 435 people have died, government data on Sunday showed, an increase from 303 on Saturday. A further 406 people are reported still missing.
Video footage shows helicopters delivering supplies to the island, renowned for lush rainforests, active volcanoes and a critically endangered orangutan population.
Rescuers have been trying to reach residents stranded by the floodwaters since Tuesday, when monsoon rains caused rivers to overflow in North Sumatra province.
Local media footage shows people using rubber boats to evacuate those trapped.
In Thailand
Across the strait, at least 162 people have died due to the extreme weather in southern Thailand, government spokesperson Siripong Angkasakulkiat told Reuters on Saturday.
Some 3.5 million people have been affected, with authorities airlifting patients and flying critical supplies, including oxygen tanks, to submerged communities, the outlet said.
Hat Yai city was Thailand's hardest-hit region, recording the type of heavy rain that occurs once every 300 years, bringing floodwaters more than 8 feet high on Tuesday and cutting off access to a maternity ward holding 30 newborn babies, staff and officials said.
It is not yet clear when power will be restored to the area where agencies have provided evacuations, medical support and essential supplies.
The city is part of Thailand's Songkhla region, where the government declared an emergency on Tuesday due to severe flooding, an official said on X.
In Sri Lanka
More than half a million people felt the wrath of Cyclone Ditwah, which triggered mudslides and flooding on Friday, Reuters said.
At least 334 people were killed and more than 1.1 million people were affected by the storms, according to a report from Sri Lanka's Disaster Management Center.
Over 25,000 homes have been destroyed and 147,000 people have been forced into state-run temporary shelters, AP reported.
Some 191 people remain missing in Sri Lanka and most homes in low-lying areas near the capital, Colombo, are under water and without power, authorities told Reuters.
Some residents chose to stay on the upper floors of partially submerged homes to protect their belongings, the outlet said.
In Malaysia
In Malaysia, two people were confirmed dead after Senyar, then a tropical storm, made landfall shortly after midnight on Friday, Reuters said.
Around 34,000 people were evacuated ahead of the storm, but Gon Qasim and her husband were less fortunate, stranded in a field in northern Perlis state last weekend when rising floodwaters cut off their escape.
The elderly couple were eventually rescued by one of their children and brought to an evacuation center in the state capital of Kangar, where hundreds of families sheltered in tents provided by the national disaster management agency, Reuters reported.
