Hundreds killed across Asia as torrential rain triggers landslides and flooding

Days of devastating flooding across South-east Asia and Sri Lanka have killed hundreds of people, authorities said on Friday. Heavy monsoon rains across Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia paired with a tropical storm inundated areas, stranding residents on rooftops and cutting off entire communities. More than 300 people have been killed across the three countries. In Sri Lanka, Cyclone Ditwah swept northwards across the island on Friday, leaving 69 dead and 34 missing. Rescuers in Indonesia were struggling to reach the worst-affected areas on Sumatra island, while authorities at a southern Thailand hospital brought in refrigerated lorries to store bodies after the morgue exceeded capacity. In West Sumatra province, 53-year-old Indonesian Misniati described a terrifying battle against rising floodwaters to reach her husband at home. She said that, returning from early morning prayers at a mosque, “I noticed the street was flooded”. “I tried to run back to my house to tell my husband, and the water was already reaching my waist,” she said, adding that it was up to her chest by the time she reached home. “We didn't sleep at all last night, we just monitored the water.” Officials on Sumatra said flooding and landslides this week had killed at least 174 people, with nearly 80 more missing. National Disaster Mitigation Agency chief Suharyanto said the toll could grow as rescuers reach isolated areas. “There are locations that still cannot be reached … where it is indicated that there may be victims in those areas that are unreachable,” he said. In Aceh province in Sumatra's north, receding water left behind cars buried in mud almost up to their windows. Further rain is forecast for much of Sumatra island, although the intensity was expected to ease, officials said. Among the hardest-hit areas in the region is southern Thailand , where residents of Hat Yai were left clinging to rooftops awaiting rescue by boat. At least 145 people have been killed across Thailand's south, government spokesman Siripong Angkasakulkiat said on Friday, as receding floodwaters allowed a clearer picture of the disaster. Most occurred in Songkhla province, where authorities at a hospital said they had no more room for bodies and were relying on refrigerated lorries. “The morgue has exceeded its capacity, so we need more,” Charn, a morgue official said. Two people were killed in Malaysia by flooding caused by heavy rain that left stretches of northern Perlis state under water. In Sri Lanka , soldiers were racing to rescue hundreds of people marooned by rising floodwaters as weather-related deaths rose to 69. Helicopters and navy boats carried out multiple rescue operations, picking up residents from treetops, roofs and villages cut off by flooding. The country's Disaster Management Centre said the toll had climbed with the recovery of more bodies in the worst-affected central region, where most victims had been buried alive from landslides. The Kelani River, which flows into the Indian Ocean near the capital Colombo, breached its banks on Friday. “I think this could be the worst flood in our area for three decades,” 56-year-old Kaduwela resident VSA Ratnayake said. “I remember a flood in the 1990s when my house was under seven feet of water.” The Disaster Management Centre said more rain is forecast, but Cyclone Ditwah is likely to move away from the north towards southern India by Sunday.

Hundreds killed across Asia as torrential rain triggers landslides and flooding

Rescuers struggle to reach isolated communities after about 400 people killed across Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Sri Lanka

'Clinging to rooftops'

'Worst flooding in decades'