Catastrophic Flooding in Southeast Asia Kills Over 300

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – A relentless and catastrophic wave of extreme weather has swept across Southeast Asia, leaving a trail of devastation that has claimed the lives of more than 300 people in Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia. According to a grim report issued by Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Friday, heavy monsoon season rains paired with a powerful tropical storm system have inundated vast areas across the three nations, stranding terrified residents on rooftops, cutting off entire communities from the outside world, and overwhelming local infrastructure to the point where hospitals are resorting to refrigerated trucks to store the dead.

The scale of the disaster is most acute in Indonesia and Thailand, where the death tolls rank among the highest for flooding events seen in recent years.

In Indonesia, authorities are currently engaged in a desperate struggle to reach the worst-affected areas on the island of Sumatra, where the landscape has been transformed into a dangerous expanse of mud and rising water.

Officials on Sumatra confirmed to AFP that the flooding and landslides triggered by the deluge earlier this week have already killed at least 174 people. 

The crisis is far from over, with nearly 80 individuals still listed as missing, raising fears that the final casualty count will climb significantly higher.

Suharyanto, the chief of Indonesia's National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), offered a sobering assessment of the unfolding tragedy. He warned that the death toll could grow as rescuers slowly manage to penetrate isolated regions that have been severed from the grid.

Suharyanto noted that there are locations that still cannot be reached, where indicators suggest there may be human victims trapped in areas that remain inaccessible to emergency teams.

The logistical nightmare facing first responders was echoed by North Sumatra police spokesman Ferry Walintukan, who stated that while authorities remain laser-focused on evacuation and providing assistance, access to some areas and essential communication lines remain cut.

Walintukan expressed hope that the weather would clear up sufficiently to allow helicopters to be deployed to the worst-hit locations, which currently remain out of reach by ground transport.

The human cost of the disaster in Indonesia was vividly illustrated by the testimony of survivors in West Sumatra province. Misniati, a 53-year-old resident, described a terrifying battle against rapidly rising floodwaters to save her family.

Speaking to AFP, she recounted returning from early morning prayers at a mosque only to notice the street was already flooded. In a frantic attempt to run back to her house to warn her husband, she found herself wading through water that had already reached her waist.

By the time she managed to enter her home, the water level had risen to her chest. "We didn't sleep at all last night, we just monitored the water," Misniati said, encapsulating the vigilance and fear gripping the population.

Further north in Sumatra’s Aceh province, the receding waters revealed a landscape of destruction. AFP journalists on the ground observed cars buried in mud almost up to their windows, a testament to the force of the landslides.

In one poignant scene, a truck carrying timber was found abandoned in the mud with no sign of the driver, symbolizing the suddenness with which the disaster struck. While officials noted that more rain is forecast for much of Sumatra island, there is a glimmer of hope as the intensity of the downpours is expected to ease.

Across the border in southern Thailand, the situation has deteriorated into a humanitarian emergency. Government spokesman Siripong Angkasakulkiat confirmed on Friday that at least 145 people have been killed across Thailand's south.

As floodwaters began to recede, authorities were able to gain a clearer picture of the disaster, revealing that the majority of fatalities occurred in Songkhla province.

The influx of casualties has overwhelmed local medical facilities. Authorities at the Songklanagarind Hospital reported that they had no more room for bodies and were forced to rely on white refrigerated trucks to manage the overflow. Charn, a morgue official at the hospital, told AFP that the morgue has exceeded its capacity and that they urgently need more storage space.

The crisis in Thailand has sparked growing public criticism regarding the government's response to the flooding. The backlash has been severe enough that two local officials have been suspended over their alleged failures to manage the disaster effectively.

For the residents of Hat Yai, the experience has been harrowing, with many left clinging to rooftops awaiting rescue by boat as the waters surged. Kamban Wongpanya, a 67-year-old survivor who had to be rescued by boat, described the speed of the inundation, noting that the water rose to the ceiling of the second floor of his home.

The chaos has also led to a breakdown in law and order in some districts. Shop owner Rachane Remsringam told AFP that his general goods store, Madam Yong, was looted and vandalized by flood victims desperate for supplies.

He reported that many kitchen products and food items, including sugar and milk, were stolen, estimating the damage to his business at several hundreds of thousands of dollars. AFP footage from the scene showed the shop littered with rubbish and stripped of its inventory, with empty shelves standing as a stark reminder of the desperation on the ground.

While Indonesia and Thailand have borne the brunt of the storm, Malaysia has not emerged unscathed. Two people were reported killed in Malaysia by flooding caused by the same heavy rain system, which left stretches of the northern Perlis state completely underwater.

Experts cite a convergence of natural seasonal patterns and long-term climate shifts as the primary drivers of this catastrophe. The annual monsoon season, which typically runs between June and September, often brings heavy rains that trigger landslides and flash floods.

However, the presence of a tropical storm has significantly exacerbated conditions this year.

Renard Siew, a climate change adviser to the Centre for Governance and Political Studies in Malaysia, told AFP that climate change has fundamentally affected storm patterns, including the duration and intensity of the season. 

This shift is leading to heavier rainfall, more frequent flash flooding, and stronger wind gusts. Siew explained that a warmer climate holds more moisture, producing more intense rain events, while warmer oceans can turbocharge the strength of storm systems.

"Climate scientists have already warned that extreme weather events... will continue to worsen as temperatures increase," Siew said. "That is exactly what we have been seeing."