Southeast Asia floods and landslides kill more than 1,000 as climate change turbocharges monsoon season

Padang, Indonesia – The toll of deadly floods and agrifides in parts of Asia rose by 1,000 on monday in Sri Lanka and Indonesia as soldiers worked to help survivors.

Unusual weather systems brought heavy, abundant rain to the entire island of Sri Lanka and large parts of Sumatra in Indonesia, Southern Thailand and Northern Malaysia last week. Most of the region is currently in its monsoon season but scientists say Climate change is producing more extreme rainfall eventsagain TurboCharging Storms across the planet.

Incessant rains have left residents clinging to rooftops waiting to be rescued by boat or helicopter, and cut off entire villages from aid.

Arriving in North Sumatra on Monday, Indonesian President Prabowo Suinto said “the worst is over.

“The government’s priority now is to quickly send the necessary aid,” with a focus on a few cut-off areas, he added.

Prabowo has stepped up pressure to declare a national emergency in response to floods and landslides that have killed at least 502 people, with more than 500 still missing.

Unlike the Sri Lankan Contral, he too did not seek international aid.

The payment is the most deadly natural disaster in Indonesia since the great The 2018 earthquake and subsequent tsunami more than 2,000 people were killed in Sulawesi.

The government has sent a Navy Warship carrying three supplies and two hospital ships to some of the worst-hit areas, where many roads remain impassable.

At a migration center in North Aceh, 28-year-old Misbahul was interviewed and described walking through water up to his neck to return to his parents.

“Everything in the house was destroyed because it was brought in,” he told AFP.

“I only have the clothes I’m wearing,” she said, choking back tears. “In other places, there were many people who died. We are happy that we are safe.”

In Sri Lanka, the government asked for international aid and used helicopters to reach people affected by floods and landslides caused by the Ditwah cyclone.

At least 340 people have been killed, Sri Lankan officials said Monday, and many are still missing.

Floods in the Count Capital Colombo have increased overnight, and it stopped raining when it was hoped that the water would start to dry up. Some shops and offices began to reopen.

The floods surprised some in Colombo.

“Every year we get small floods, but this is another one,” delivery driver Dinusha Sanjaya told AFP. “It’s not just the amount of water, but everything is moving quickly.”

Authorities said the extent of the damage in the worst-hit central region had already been revealed as aid workers were stymied by fallen trees and mudslides.

President Anura Kumara disananayake, who declared a state of emergency to deal with this disaster, called the floods “the biggest disaster and the most challenging in our history.”

The loss and damage is the worst in Sri Lanka since the destruction 2004 ASIAN Tsunami That killed nearly 31,000 people there and left over a million homeless.