Rescue teams battle blocked roads, rising waters and missing persons after days of extreme monsoon rains and a powerful cyclone.
Authorities in Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Thailand are struggling to reach stranded communities and locate hundreds of missing people after catastrophic floods and landslides left more than 900 dead across the region.
Several days of heavy monsoon rains, intensified by a tropical storm, triggered widespread destruction that has overwhelmed rescue efforts. Officials say the scale of damage reflects how the climate crisis is fuelling stronger storms, heavier rainfall and more frequent flooding.
Sri Lanka has been one of the hardest-hit countries. The death toll from Cyclone Ditwah rose sharply on Sunday to 334, with large sections of Colombo still under water. The flooding is the worst natural disaster the island has experienced since the 2004 tsunami. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake declared a state of emergency and promised to rebuild with international support, calling the crisis “the largest and most challenging natural disaster in our history.”
In Indonesia, at least 442 people have died and more than 400 remain missing. Rescue teams are trying to access isolated areas of Sumatra island, where roads have collapsed, communication lines are down and thousands of residents lack food, water and shelter. Some survivors described watching their homes wash away in minutes. Two regions remained unreachable on Sunday, forcing authorities to send naval ships with emergency supplies.
Scenes of desperation played out in several towns, with police reporting that some residents broke into shops in search of food before official aid arrived. Thick mud, damaged bridges and unstable slopes continue to slow rescue operations.
Thailand has confirmed at least 162 deaths in its worst flooding in a decade. The government is providing compensation and clearing debris, but it faces growing public criticism over its response. Two local officials have already been suspended.
Across the region, homes, shops and entire villages have been buried in mud, swept away by fast-moving water or left coated in thick debris. In Sri Lanka, nearly 150,000 people have been displaced and are staying in temporary shelters. Relief workers are still discovering the extent of damage in remote districts now accessible only after roads were cleared.
Survivors described climbing onto roofs, watching trees and boulders fall from hillsides, and fleeing neighbourhoods swallowed by water. In Colombo’s suburbs, families carried what little they could salvage as they searched for safer ground.
With Cyclone Ditwah expected to move toward India’s southern coast, officials in all three countries warn that the situation could worsen. They say rebuilding will take months, and for many communities, the path to recovery is only beginning.
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