Severe weather across parts of Asia has claimed nearly 1,000 lives, with Indonesia and Sri Lanka among the worst affected by heavy rainfall, flooding and landslides.
Three tropical cyclones, coinciding with the northeast monsoon that typically brings heavy downpours to Southeast Asia this time of year, have caused widespread destruction in the region. Peninsular Malaysia and southern Thailand have also received significantly above-normal rains in the past week, according to data from the US Climate Prediction Center.
In Indonesia’s Sumatra island, the intense storm activity has left at least 442 people dead and another 402 missing, while Thailand’s latest death toll stands at 169. Storm Senyar, which circled the Strait of Malacca last week, has now dissipated over the South China Sea, according to the Hong Kong Observatory.
Cut-off roads and downed communication networks are complicating rescue and relief efforts, Indonesia’s National Disaster Mitigation Agency head, Suharyanto, said in a briefing on Sunday, the Jakarta Post reported. The government has also carried out a number of aerial cloud seeding operations in an attempt to reduce rainfall over har
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