Death Toll Rises Across Southeast Asia as Floods Devastate Sumatra

Death Toll Rises Across Southeast Asia as Floods Devastate Sumatra
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More than 900 people have been killed by destructive floods and landslides on Indonesia’s island of Sumatra, the country’s disaster management agency said Saturday, Arab News reported. The toll is expected to rise further amid growing fears that food shortages could claim additional lives.

A succession of tropical storms and intense monsoon rains has battered Southeast and South Asia over the past week, triggering widespread flooding and landslides from Indonesia to Sri Lanka. More than 1,790 deaths have been recorded across Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam as communities struggle with the unfolding disasters.

In Indonesia’s Aceh and North Sumatra provinces, flooding has swept away roads, buried homes in mud and cut off essential supplies. Aceh governor Muzakir Manaf said rescue teams were still combing through “waist-deep” mud in remote districts, warning that hunger now posed one of the most severe threats to isolated communities.

“People are not dying from the flood, but from starvation,” he said, adding that entire villages in Aceh Tamiang had been destroyed. Survivors described overcrowded shelters and dwindling food supplies, while some residents voiced frustration over the government’s reluctance to declare a national disaster — a move that would unlock greater resources and streamline the emergency response. Officials have insisted that Indonesia is capable of managing the crisis without additional international assistance.

As waters recede in parts of Sumatra, the extent of the damage is becoming clearer, with homes coated in thick silt and infrastructure severely damaged. Humanitarian groups warn the scale of the disaster could be unprecedented, worsened by erratic climate patterns and deforestation that has increased vulnerability to floods and landslides.