Asia floods death toll tops 1,100 as troops aid survivors

PADANG, INDONESIA:

The toll in deadly flooding and landslides across parts of Asia climbed past 1,100 on Monday as hardest-hit Sri Lanka and Indonesia deployed military personnel to help survivors.

Separate weather systems brought torrential, extended rainfall to the entire island of Sri Lanka and large parts of Indonesia's Sumatra, southern Thailand and northern Malaysia last week.

Much of the region is currently in its monsoon season but climate change is producing more extreme rain events and turbocharging storms.

The World Health Organization said it was deploying rapid response teams and critical supplies to the region.

The UN agency's chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters in Geneva that it was "another reminder of how climate change is driving more frequent and more extreme weather events, with disastrous effects".

The relentless rains left residents clinging to rooftops awaiting rescue by boat or helicopter, and cut entire villages off from assistance.

Arriving in North Sumatra on Monday, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto said "the worst has passed, hopefully".

The government's "priority now is how to immediately send the necessary aid", with particular focus on several cut-off areas, he added.

Prabowo is under increasing pressure to declare a national emergency in response to flooding and landslides that have killed at least 593 people, with nearly 470 still missing.

Unlike his Sri Lankan counterpart, Prabowo has also avoided publicly calling for international assistance.

The toll is the deadliest in a natural disaster in Indonesia since a massive 2018 earthquake and subsequent tsunami killed more than 2,000 people in Sulawesi.

The government has sent three warships carrying aid and two hospital ships to some of the worst-hit areas, where many roads remain impassable. AFP