Southeast Asia floods kill at least 321 as rescues and recovery efforts intensify

The death toll from floods across large swathes of Southeast Asia rose to at least 321 on Friday, with authorities racing to rescue stranded citizens, restore power and communications, and coordinate recovery efforts as waters began to recede.

Large parts of Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand have been hit by cyclone-fuelled torrential rain for a week, with a rare tropical storm forming in the Malacca Strait. Another 46 people were killed by a cyclone in Sri Lanka, authorities said.

'Running out of supplies and food'

On Indonesia’s badly hit Sumatra island, 174 people were confirmed dead on Friday, Suharyanto, the head of Indonesia’s disaster mitigation agency, said at a press briefing. While the rain had stopped, 79 people remained missing and thousands of families were displaced.

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Residents in Sumatra’s Padang Pariaman region, where 22 people died, were coping with water levels at least 1 metre high and had still not been reached by search-and-rescue teams on Friday.

"We’re running out of supplies and food," said Muhammad Rais, 40, who moved to the second floor of his home on Thursday to escape rapidly rising water.

In Batang Toru, northern Sumatra, residents on Friday buried seven unclaimed victims in a mass grave. The decomposing bodies, wrapped in black plastic, were lifted from a truck onto a wide plot of land as onlookers held their noses.

Communications remained down in parts of the island. Authorities worked to restore power and clear roads blocked by landslide debris, said Abdul Muhari, spokesman for Indonesia’s disaster mitigation agency. Indonesia would continue to airlift aid and rescue personnel into stricken areas on Friday, he added.

Thailand death toll reachers 145, tourists evacuated

The Thai government said 145 people had been killed by floods across eight southern provinces, with more than 3.5 million affected.

In the southern city of Hat Yai, the hardest-hit area, the rain had stopped on Friday, but residents were still ankle-deep in floodwaters and many remained without electricity while assessing damage. One resident said he had “lost everything”.

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Others who avoided the worst still faced hardship. “It affects everything for us, in every way,” said 52-year-old Somporn Petchtae. “My place wasn’t flooded, but I was stuck like I was on an island because I couldn’t go anywhere.”

In neighbouring Malaysia, where two deaths have been confirmed, tropical storm Senyar made landfall around midnight before weakening. Meteorological authorities warned that heavy rain, strong winds and rough seas could pose risks, especially for small boats.

Some 30,000 evacuees remained in shelters, down from more than 34,000 on Thursday.

Malaysia’s foreign ministry said it had evacuated 1,459 Malaysian nationals stranded in more than 25 flood-hit hotels in Thailand and was working to rescue the remaining 300 still trapped in flood zones.