Deadly Floods and Landslides Sweep Southeast Asia as Monsoon Rains Intensify

Deadly Floods and Landslides Sweep Southeast Asia as Monsoon Rains Intensify
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Heavy monsoon rains continue to batter Southeast Asia, triggering widespread flooding and landslides that have claimed additional lives as authorities race to respond, Al Jazeera reported.

Vietnam reported one more fatality on Monday, raising the country’s death toll to 91 in just over a week. Thailand confirmed five additional deaths as flash floods swept through its southern provinces.

Vietnam’s national weather agency warned that the torrential rains that have pounded the country since October may return later this week, heightening risks in already saturated regions. Nearly half of the country’s 100 million people live in flood-prone areas.

The hardest-hit region has been the mountainous central province of Dak Lak, where at least 63 people drowned. Fatalities have also occurred in Khanh Hoa, Lam Dong, Gia Lai, Danang, Hue, and Quang Tri as severe flooding and landslides continue to strike the south-central region.

The relentless rainfall has caused an estimated $500m in damage across Vietnam, inundating urban districts and submerging agricultural land. Tens of thousands of emergency personnel have been deployed to deliver food, medicine, and essential supplies, with helicopters reaching isolated highland areas.

In Thailand, nearly two million people have been affected by flash floods. The city of Hat Yai in Songkhla province recorded 335 mm of rain on Friday—its highest 24-hour total in 300 years. Rainfall between Wednesday and Friday nearly doubled that amount. Officials warn that more heavy rain is expected in the coming days. The country has endured months of unusually intense rainfall, with at least 25 people killed in December.

Malaysia has also been hit. More than 12,500 residents have been evacuated, primarily from the northeastern state of Kelantan, which borders Thailand. No fatalities have been reported.

This latest wave of floods follows a series of typhoons that struck the region in September and October. The International Organization for Migration estimates that those storms caused $1.2bn in damage in Vietnam alone, damaging more than half a million homes and forcing large-scale evacuations.