Governments and aid organizations in Indonesia and Sri Lanka are urgently delivering aid to hundreds of thousands affected by deadly floods that have claimed around 1,200 lives across four countries.
Last week’s torrential monsoon rains, combined with two tropical cyclones, brought heavy downpours to all of Sri Lanka, parts of Indonesia’s Sumatra, southern Thailand, and northern Malaysia.
Climate change is causing more severe rain events as warmer air holds more moisture and warmer oceans intensify storms.
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Although the floodwaters have mostly receded, the aftermath has left hundreds of thousands in shelters, struggling to find clean water and food.
In Aceh, one of Indonesia’s hardest-hit regions, residents reported that those who could afford it were stockpiling supplies.
“Road access is largely cut off in flood-affected areas,” said 29-year-old Erna Mardhiah as she waited in a long line at a Banda Aceh petrol station.
“People are concerned about fuel shortages,” she added, after waiting for two hours.
This pressure has led to soaring prices.
“Prices are already sky-high… just chillies cost up to 300,000 rupiah per kilo ($18), which is likely why people are panic-buying,” she noted.
On Monday, Indonesia’s government announced it was sending 34,000 tonnes of rice and 6.8 million liters of cooking oil to the three hardest-hit provinces: Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra.
“There can be no delays,” emphasized Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman.
– Risk of Food Shortages –
Aid groups are working hard to deliver supplies to affected areas, warning that local markets are already running out of essentials and prices have tripled.
“Without reestablishing supply lines in the next seven days, communities across Aceh face severe risks of food shortages and hunger,” warned the charity group Islamic Relief.
A shipment of 12 tonnes of food from the group, aboard an Indonesian navy vessel, was scheduled to arrive in Aceh on Tuesday.
At least 631 people lost their lives in the Sumatra floods, with 472 still missing. The disaster agency reports that a million people have been displaced.
Survivors have recounted terrifying waves of water that struck without warning.
In East Aceh, Zamzami described the floodwaters as “unstoppable, like a tsunami wave.”
“The scale of the water was unimaginable,” said the 33-year-old, who, like many Indonesians, uses a single name.
His village sought refuge atop a local two-story fish market and is now trying to clean up mud and debris while dealing with power and telecom outages.
“Access to clean water is difficult,” he told AFP on Monday.
“Children are beginning to develop fevers, and there’s no medicine available.”
The weather system also affected southern Thailand, where at least 176 people were killed.
Across the border in Malaysia, two more fatalities were reported.
– Colombo Floodwaters Recede –
A separate storm drenched Sri Lanka, causing flash floods and deadly landslides that claimed at least 390 lives.
Another 352 people remain missing, and some of the worst-hit central areas are still hard to access.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake declared a state of emergency, calling it the “most challenging natural disaster in our history.”
Unlike Indonesia, he has requested international assistance.
Sri Lanka’s air force, with support from Indian and Pakistani counterparts, has been evacuating stranded residents and delivering food and supplies.
In the mountainous Welimada region, security forces recovered the bodies of 11 residents buried by mudslides on Monday, according to a local official.
Meanwhile, in the capital Colombo, floodwaters began to recede on Tuesday.
The speed of the water’s rise caught residents off guard, even those accustomed to seasonal flooding.
“We experience minor floods every year, but this was unprecedented,” delivery driver Dinusha Sanjaya told AFP.
“It’s not just the volume of water, but how fast everything was submerged.”
Though rains have lessened, landslide alerts remain active in the heavily affected central regions, officials stated.
