BATANG TORU, Indonesia (AP) — Emergency crews raced to reach survivors and recover more bodies Tuesday as the death toll from last week’s catastrophic floods and landslides surged past 1,300 in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand, with nearly 900 people missing.
Days of heavy monsoon rains inundated vast areas, leaving thousands stranded and many clinging to rooftops and trees waiting for help. The flooding and landslides killed at least 1,338 people: 744 in Indonesia, 410 in Sri Lanka, 181 in Thailand and three in Malaysia, authorities said Tuesday. Sri Lanka's president, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, said it's too early to determine the exact number of dead in his country.
In Indonesia, the hardest-hit nation, rescuers struggled to access villages on Sumatra island, where roads have been washed out and bridges collapsed. At least 551 people remain missing, according to the country’s National Disaster Management Agency. Helicopters and boats have been deployed, but officials warn that worsening weather and damaged infrastructure are slowing operations.
Indonesia's forests in ruins
Floods and landslides in North Sumatra carried away millions of cubic meters of felled timber, officials said, sparking public concern that illegal logging may have contributed to the disaster.
Batang Toru, the lush forested area, has turned into a wasteland of broken logs and shattered homes. Roads have vanished, replaced by rivers of sludge.
“This is not just a natural disaster, it's a manmade crisis,” said Rianda Purba from the Indonesian Environmental Forum, an activist group. “Deforestation and unchecked development have stripped Batang Toru of its resilience. Without urgent restoration and stricter protections, these floods will become the new normal.”
Survivors desperately search for their loved ones
A week after flash floods and landslides swept through West Sumatra, survivors were still awaiting news of their loved ones still unaccounted for.
Zahari Sutra held photos of his missing wife and two daughters aged 4 and 2, as he pleaded for help with rescuers in Sikumbang village in Agam district. “Other victims have been found ... why not my family?”
The 38-year-old farmer said he dropped his motorbike and ran for higher ground when rising waters blocked his path to home last Thursday. He said the raging current swallowed his home. He waded through the water shouting for his wife and daughters, but there was only silence.
As darkness fell, he found his eldest, a 5-year-old girl, covered in mud, but safe. Fearing more floods, Sutra clung to a lychee tree with his daughter until dawn, when the full scope of the disaster was revealed: all homes were gone or buried under tons of mud.
“I carried my daughter and went for help,” he said, his voice breaking. “My only prayer is to find my wife and children.”
Sri Lanka counts the dead and Thailand begins cleanup
Military-led rescue teams in Sri Lanka scoured flood-devastated areas for 336 people still missing in the aftermath of Cyclone Ditwah, the Disaster Management Center said Tuesday. R oads were blocked by landslides and bridges have collapsed, making access difficult.
In the central city of Kandy, residents struggled without running water, relying instead on bottled water collected from natural springs. Authorities warned that conditions could worsen as more rain is forecast in the coming days.
President Dissanayake, speaking in a meeting with government officials, described the disaster as the worst to strike the country in recent history, saying it remains impossible to determine the full scale of casualties. He warned that the death toll is likely far higher than current figures.
He said that government agencies were working to reach isolated communities.
Selladurai Yogaraj, 35, a resident of Sarasavigama, said he lost his entire family: mother, wife and two children. “I can't even think what life is going to be like,” he said.
Another man, Duraikannu Mahoharan, said he lost his wife, daughter and a house. "Only my sons and I survived. Now I am staying with my brother," he said.
At least three people were confirmed dead in Malaysia after floods left stretches of northern Perlis state underwater, authorities said. About 6,000 people sought shelter in emergency centers.
In southern Thailand, cleanup has begun on streets and in buildings after massive floods affected more than 1.5 million households and 3.9 million people. Authorities are working to restore infrastructure, including water and electricity.
Thailand’s Interior Ministry said Monday it would set up public kitchens to provide freshly cooked food to affected residents. The first batch of compensation payments of 239 million baht ($7.4 million) is set to be distributed to 26,000 people, government spokesperson Siripong Angkasakulkiat also said Monday.
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Karmini reported from Jakarta, Indonesia. Associated Press journalists Jintamas Saksornchai in Bangkok, Krishan Francis in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and Eranga Jayawardena in Sarasavigama, Sri Lanka, and Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, contributed to this report.
