More than 1,300 dead from floods in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand as rescue efforts intensify
BATANG TORU Indonesia AP Urgency crews raced to reach survivors and recover more bodies Tuesday as the death toll from last week s catastrophic floods and landslides surged past in Indonesia Sri Lanka and Thailand with more than people missing Days of heavy monsoon rains inundated vast areas leaving thousands stranded and several clinging to rooftops and trees waiting for help The flooding and landslides killed at least people with people verified dead in Indonesia in Sri Lanka and in Thailand leadership noted Tuesday Sri Lanka s president Anura Kumara Dissanayake explained it s too early to determine the exact number of dead 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 people remain missing according to the country s National Calamity Management Agency Helicopters and boats have been deployed but agents 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 administrators mentioned sparking residents concern that illegal logging may have contributed to the accident 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 calamity it s a manmade situation noted Rianda Purba from the Indonesian Environmental Forum an activist group Deforestation and unchecked evolution 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 and as he pleaded for help with rescuers in Sikumbang village in Agam district Other casualties have been unveiled why not my family The -year-old farmer explained he dropped his motorbike and ran for higher ground when rising waters blocked his path to home last Thursday He explained 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 located his eldest a -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 tragedy was revealed all homes were gone or buried under tons of mud I carried my daughter and went for help he noted his voice developing 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 people still missing in the aftermath of Cyclone Ditwah the Calamity Management Center reported Tuesday R oads were blocked by landslides and bridges have collapsed making access formidable In the central city of Kandy residents struggled without running water relying instead on bottled water collected from natural springs Officials warned that conditions could worsen as more rain is forecast in the coming days President Dissanayake speaking in a meeting with executive executives described the catastrophe as the worst to strike the country in latest 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 commented that administration agencies were working to reach isolated communities Selladurai Yogaraj a resident of Sarasavigama revealed he lost his entire family mother wife and two children I can t even think what life is going to be like he declared Another man Duraikannu Mahoharan reported he lost his wife daughter and a house Only my sons and I survived Now I am staying with my brother he revealed In southern Thailand cleanup has begun on streets and in buildings after massive floods affected more than million households and million people Administration are working to restore infrastructure including water and electricity Thailand s Interior Ministry explained Monday it would set up populace kitchens to provide freshly cooked food to affected residents The first batch of compensation payments of million baht million is set to be distributed to people regime spokesperson Siripong Angkasakulkiat also declared Monday Karmini revealed from Jakarta Indonesia Associated Press journalists Jintamas Saksornchai in Bangkok Krishan Francis in Colombo Sri Lanka and Eranga Jayawardena in Sarasavigama Sri Lanka contributed to this overview Source
