Key events
Closing summary
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Sri Lanka and Indonesia have deployed military personnel as they race to help victims of devastating flooding that has killed over 1,100 people across four countries in Asia.
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In Indonesia, at least 604 people have been killed and 464 remain missing, according to the national disaster agency. The provinces of Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra have been hardest hit, with thousands of people reportedly isolated without vital supplies. Hundreds of thousands of people have been evacuated from homes across three provinces on the western Indonesian island of Sumatra alone.
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Public anger is mounting over what many say was an ill-prepared governmental response to the deadly floods and the sluggish delivery of much-needed food aid has been blamed on bureaucratic hurdles.
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The government is coming under pressure to declare a national emergency in response to the flooding. The Indonesian president, Prabowo Subianto, said “the worst has passed, hopefully” earlier today.
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In Sri Lanka, the government called for international aid and used military helicopters to reach people stranded by flooding and landslides triggered by Cyclone Ditwah. At least 355 people have been killed, according to officials, with another 366 estimated to still be missing.
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Over 170 people are reported to have been killed in Thailand, with the southern province of Songkhla being the hardest-hit. The flooding has caused severe disruptions, leaving thousands of people stranded, rendering streets impassable and submerging low-rise buildings and vehicles.
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Three deaths have been confirmed by officials in Malaysia.
Thanks for following along today. We are closing the blog now. You can read about the latest flooding developments in this wrap-up story by the Guardian’s south-east Asia correspondent, Rebecca Ratcliffe.
Tens of thousands of children out of school in Indonesia and Thailand, charity says
Tens of thousands of children are out of school in Indonesia and Thailand after the catastrophic flooding caused huge disruption to education, Save the Children has said.
The charity says in a press release that at least 1,000 schools have been damaged and closed in Aceh, among the hardest hit provinces in Indonesia, and Sumatra.
Teaching has been postponed as some schools are being used as emergency shelters, housing people in urgent need of food and shelter.
Speaking from Nias island, one of the impacted areas in Sumatra, Fadli Usman, humanitarian director, Save the Children Indonesia said:
Blocked roads, power cuts and the disruption of essential services are putting children’s health and psychological wellbeing at risk. This is an uncertain time for children – they have lost homes, schools and loved ones.
It’s vital that children’s needs and rights are prioritised, including providing safe places for them and their families to stay, nutritious food, access to clean water and protection.
About 76,000 children are out of school due to the flooding in southern Thailand, according to an assessment conducted by Save the Children in 7 out of the 12 affected provinces. As is the case in parts of Indonesia, schools have been forced to close in areas in southern Thailand, with some being used as emergency shelters housing people whose houses have been submerged by the floods.
Save the Children warn that thousands of children’s education has been interrupted as power cuts and damaged infrastructure prevent them from being able to learn online.
Officials have reported at least three deaths after heavy rains and flooding swept through at least eight states in Malaysia (Perlis, Perak, Kedah, Selangor, Kelantan, Pahang, Terengganu and Negeri Sembilan).
State news agency Bernama is reporting that floods in Negeri Sembilan have fully receded, with the situation improving in the seven other states.
About 11,600 people are, however, still in evacuation centres, according to the country’s disaster agency, which said it was still on alert for a second and third wave of flooding.
Indonesians face exhausting clean-up while villages are still cut-off
On the Indonesian island of Sumatra, pictures and videos show people scrambling across crumbling barricades, flooded roads and broken glass to get their hands on food, medicine and fuel.
Some were wading through waist-deep flood waters to reach damaged convenience stores.
The chaos has also led to looting and other crimes. Police said the thefts had taken place before officers could get there.
In many parts though, avalanches and other hurdles have cut off already remote communities. Bridges have been washed away, trees are topples and the roads are caked in mud.
With cars and larger vehicles unable to traverse such roads, aid workers are trying to reach people on motorbikes, even on foot.
Across South and South East Asia, at least 1,100 people have been killed in flooding and landslides due to extreme wet weather this past week.
The death toll is expected to rise given that in recently-hit areas like Indonesia, people are still trying to recover and find their loved ones.
While rare tropical storm has passed through the Malacca Strait, communities are now trying to recover, with the mud and wind hampering efforts.
The death toll put out by various national authorities so far as of 21:30 Monday 1 December, in most parts of South-East Asia (13:30 UTC):
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Indonesia: 600+
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Sri Lanka: 366
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Thailand: 176
Here are some of the latest images being sent over to us on the newswires:
The death toll in Indonesia from the floods and landslides has risen again, to 604, the country’s disaster mitigation agency said. Another 464 people are still reported to be missing.
Electricity supply in West Sumatra is being restored, but power in North Sumatra and Aceh remains disrupted, Al Jazeera has quoted the deputy minister of energy and mineral resources Yuliot Tanjung as having said.
Death toll rises to 593 in Indonesia, officials say, meaning Asia floods death toll passes 1,100
The death toll from the devastating floods and landslides in Indonesia has risen to 593 (up from 502), the national disaster agency has reported in an update, as rescue workers continue to battle to reach affected areas.
It said 468 people were missing, while more than 578,000 others were evacuated from homes across three provinces on the western Indonesian island of Sumatra.
The Indonesian death toll revision mean that the toll in deadly flooding and landslides across Indonesia, Thailand (176 deaths), Sri Lanka (355 deaths) Malaysia (three deaths) climbed past 1,100 on Monday.
The UN office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs (OCHA) has warned of the strains the flooding in Sri Lanka is putting on the country’s already fragile health system.
In an update posted yesterday, the OCHA said several district hospitals were flooded and are receiving only basic supplies. Critically ill patients had to be airlifted to functioning hospitals to continue treatment, it added.
Separately, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said flooding significantly increases the risk of food/water/vector-borne diseases, urging people to use safe drinking water, ensure food hygiene and protect against mosquito bites when possible.
