More than 900 killed in Asian floods

Heavy monsoons overwhelmed swaths of Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia, leaving thousands of people stranded without shelter or critical supplies.

Micheal

Nov 30, 2025 - 21:08

More than 900 killed in Asian floods

In Sri Lanka, entire districts of its capital Colombo are underwater after a cyclone triggered some of its worst flooding the city has seen in recent years.

In Indonesia, 442 deaths have been confirmed, with 170 more in Thailand, 334 in Sri Lanka and two in Malaysia.
The flooding in Thailand impacted its tourist regions, leaving many foreigners stranded while international agencies, including from the US, provided assistance.

Another 400 people are missing in Sri Lanka after the cyclone, which impacted nearly a million people nationwide.

Heavy rains brought by Cyclone Ditwah caused the Kelani River to burst its banks, flooding suburbs of Colombo and causing mudslides further inland.

Local authorities say that the full extent of the damage is still to emerge, as rescue teams battle to clear roads blocked by fallen trees.

More than 147,000 residents have been forced into temporary state shelters, while nearly a million require some form of assistance.

Selvi, a 46-year-old resident of the Colombo suburb of Wennawatte, told news agency AFP: “My house is completely flooded. I don’t know where to go, but I hope there is some safe shelter where I can take my family.”

Anura Kumara Dissanayake, Sri Lanka’s president, has declared a state of emergency and appealed for foreign support. India has already flown in relief crews and equipment, and Pakistan and Japan have promised to send help in the coming days.

The cyclone is Sri Lanka’s deadliest natural disaster since 2017, when flooding and landslides claimed more than 200 lives and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.

Entire communities in the north of the island of Sumatra have been cut off after bridges collapsed, hillsides gave way and phone lines snapped. Aid has been slow to reach the region.

Faced with food shortages, some residents have started looting. Videos posted on social media show people forcing their way past crumbling barricades, pushing across flooded streets and picking through broken glass to take food, medicine and gas.

Police officers arrived on Saturday evening in an attempt to restore order.

Ferry Walintukan, a police spokesman, said: “The looting happened before logistical aid arrived. [Residents] didn’t know that aid would come and were worried they would starve.”

Jakarta has sent 11 helicopters into the disaster zone for supply drops and medical evacuations, while four navy ships docked at nearby ports to move food and fuel inland.

Survivors were seen from the sky waving for help, but persistent rain and a lack of heavy equipment have slowed rescue attempts.

Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand faced large-scale devastation after a rare tropical storm formed in the Malacca Strait, fuelling heavy rains and gust of wind for a week.

On Sumatra, search teams expect to find more bodies as they push deeper into cut-off valleys.

The Thai city of Hat Yai recorded 335mm of rainfall in a single day last week – the heaviest deluge in three centuries.