Military deployed in Sri Lanka, Indonesia as floods kill over 1,000 across Asia
Indonesia sent three warships carrying aid while Sri Lanka used military helicopters to reach people stranded by flooding
The toll in deadly flooding and landslides across parts of Asia climbed past 1,000 on Monday as hardest-hit Sri Lanka and Indonesia deployed military personnel to help survivors.
Separate weather systems brought torrential, extended rainfall to the entire island of Sri Lanka and large parts of Indonesia’s Sumatra, southern Thailand and northern Malaysia last week.
Much of the region is currently in its monsoon season, but climate change is producing more extreme rain events and turbocharging storms.
The relentless rains left residents clinging to rooftops awaiting rescue by boat or helicopter, and cut entire villages off from help.
Arriving in North Sumatra on Monday, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto said “the worst has passed, hopefully”.
Indonesian flood survivor revisits site where his house once stood
The government’s “priority now is how to immediately send the necessary aid”, with particular focus on several cut-off areas, he added.