President Sheikh Mohamed has ordered UAE search-and-rescue personnel to be sent to Sri Lanka along with relief supplies after flooding and landslides that have devastated the country.
About 1,000 people have died as a result of the catastrophe affecting Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.
"The response includes search-and-rescue operations in affected areas carried out by teams from Abu Dhabi Civil Defence, as well as the delivery of urgent relief supplies consisting of essential food items and critical shelter materials for those impacted by the disaster," state news agency Wam reported on Monday.
"The disaster has resulted in the deaths of at least 355 people [in Sri Lanka], while more than 366 remain missing. Over one million people have been affected, daily life has been disrupted and hundreds of homes have been partially or fully damaged in several districts."
The UAE's response is intended to help restore stability, Wam added, saying it was in keeping with country's ethos to help those in need.
Triple cyclone
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People look for survivors and lost belongings near a damaged house in Kandy after landslides and flooding in Sri Lanka caused by Cyclone Ditwah. Reuters -
Buildings damaged by the floods in Peradeniya. More than 390 people in Sri Lanka have been killed in the cyclone. AP -
A Buddhist monk stands near his flooded temple in a suburb of Colombo. EPA -
Rescue workers move Colombo residents to safety. EPA -
Floodwater flows past homes in Sarasavigama village. AP -
Hundreds are missing after heavy rain inundated the country. EPA -
The cyclone caused the worst flooding in the country for decades. EPA -
Sri Lankans queue for tea at a relief camp at a school in Wellampitiya, on the outskirts of Colombo. AFP -
Sri Lankans have sheltered in schools after fleeing the floods. EPA -
Rescue workers take Colombo residents to boats amid evacuation operations. EPA -
Rescuers distribute food to people caught in the deadly floods. EPA -
Authorities have warned there is a high risk of further landslides because mountains are still saturated with rainwater. EPA -
Houses partially submerged in floodwaters after heavy rain in Kaduwela, on the outskirts of Colombo. AFP -
Volunteers help in evacuating a flood-affected woman after heavy rain in Wellampitiya, near Colombo. AFP -
People wade through a flooded road in Wellampitiya. AFP -
People ride a boat across a flooded street in Ambatale. AFP -
Commuters gather near a flooded road in Kaduwela. AFP -
Flood-affected people evacuate Wellampitiya. AFP
Three tropical cyclones, coinciding with the north-east monsoon that typically brings heavy downpours to South-east Asia at this time of year, have caused widespread destruction. Western Malaysia and southern Thailand have received far higher rainfall than usual in the past week, data from the US Climate Prediction Centre indicates.
In Sumatra, Indonesia, the intense storm has left at least 442 people dead with another 402 missing, while Thailand’s death toll stood at 69 on Monday afternoon.
Cut-off roads and severed communication networks have been complicating rescue and relief efforts, Indonesia’s National Disaster Mitigation Agency chief said. The government has also carried out a number of aerial cloud-seeding operations in an attempt to reduce rainfall over hard-hit areas. Petron Malaysia halted operations at a crude oil refinery following damage from Storm Senyar.
In Sri Lanka, deaths from heavy flooding rose sharply to reach 355 on Monday, officials confirmed. Another 370 people are missing. Cyclone Ditwah, which reached Sri Lanka on Friday, was forecast to bring heavy rain to some parts of southern India on Monday.
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Indonesian residents leave a flooded area in Deli Serdang in the country's North Sumatra province. Reuters -
Military personnel deliver relief supplies to flood survivors in Hat Yai, Songkhla province, Thailand. EPA -
Submerged cars and homes in Hat Yai, southern Thailand. EPA -
An umpire's seat and tennis courts are covered in mud in Hat Yai, Thailand. Reuters -
Flood-displaced people take shelter in a gymnasium in Hat Yai, Thailand. Getty Images -
Corpses in body bags are taken away on a lorry after being retrieved by emergency workers Hat Yai, Thailand. Getty Images -
A damaged car in Hat Yai , Thailand. Reuters -
A home surrounded by floodwater in Kangar, in Malaysia's Perlis state. AFP -
A flooded mosque in Kangar, Malaysia. AFP -
Malaysian civil defence officers evacuate an elderly woman on a boat, in Kangar. EPA -
Buildings submerged in floodwater, in Hat Yai, Thailand. AFP -
Rescuers search for survivors in Kangar, Malaysia. AFP -
People displaced by flooding shelter at an evacuation centre in Kangar, Malaysia. Reuters -
This car ended up stuck among rubble in Palembayan in the West Sumatra province of Indonesia. Reuters -
North Sumatra Governor Bobby Nasution distributes meals to displaced residents at a shelter. AFP -
A truck stranded precariously in Padang, West Sumatra. Reuters -
Police officers carry a resident across a wooden bridge in West Sumatra. Reuters -
A drone view shows the extent of the damage in Padang, West Sumatra province. Reuters -
Army personnel ride a truck carrying boats to rescue stranded people in Colombo, Sri Lanka. AFP -
Evacuees are transported on a Sri Lankan army boat on a flooded street in Colombo. AFP -
This bridge collapsed after floods in the Sri Lankan city of Kurunegala. AFP -
A man carries cats to safety across a flooded street in Wellampitiya, Sri Lanka. Reuters -
This statue of Buddha in Kelaniya. Sri Lanka, was partially submerged. Reuters
The storm’s passage has left Sri Lanka facing its “largest and most challenging natural disaster”, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said in a national address on Sunday night.
Meanwhile, Storm Koto is forecast to linger in the waters east of Vietnam as it gradually weakens over the next few days. It will probably bring more rain to central and northern-central Vietnam, areas which have already been pounded by storms and historic floods in recent weeks.
Rain is forecast to ease to seasonal levels in most of the affected areas by midweek.
