The death toll from floods and landslides on Indonesia's Sumatra island has risen to 708, with 504 people still missing, according to the country's disaster agency. The figure marks a sharp increase from the 604 deaths reported on Monday.
Heavy monsoon rains and tropical cyclones have devastated parts of Asia this week, including Indonesia, Sri Lanka and southern Thailand, killing more than 1,300 people across the region. In Indonesia alone, about 3.2 million people have been affected and 2,600 injured, with 1 million evacuated from high-risk areas.
Aid workers are racing to reach survivors, but efforts have been hampered by blocked roads and broken bridges. Some areas, including Tapanuli Tengah in North Sumatra and Agam in Aceh, remain inaccessible by road, according to Unicef. In Aceh, one of the hardest-hit regions, markets are running out of essentials and prices have tripled, Islamic Relief reported. The charity warned of severe food shortages if supply lines are not restored within a week.
The Indonesian government has sent 34,000 tonnes of rice and 6.8 million litres of cooking oil to Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra. The World Health Organization is deploying rapid response teams and strengthening disease surveillance, with its director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus calling the disaster 'another reminder of how climate change is driving more frequent and more extreme weather events'.
Survivors described the sudden onset of flooding. 'We didn't think we would survive that night because the situation was so chaotic. There was no prior warning whatsoever before the water came,' said Gahitsa Zahira Cahyani, 17, a student at an Islamic boarding school. Hundreds of students fled, some clinging to trees and the mosque's roof.
The season's monsoons often bring heavy rains, but this year's downpours were compounded by a rare tropical storm in the Malacca Strait, devastating parts of Sumatra and southern Thailand, where 181 people died. Sri Lanka has also faced catastrophic flooding from Cyclone Ditwah, killing 410, with 336 missing. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake declared a state of emergency, calling it the 'most challenging natural disaster in our history'.
