Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand have been inundated with rains caused by the cyclone for a week, leaving nearly 400 people dead across the three countries combined.
Rescue workers in Indonesia are struggling to reach victims in several devastated areas inundated by torrential rains brought by the cyclone last week, as officials said the death toll has now reached 248 and is likely to rise.
Indonesia’s national disaster management agency (known as BNPB) said on Saturday that the number of casualties following this week’s devastating floods and landslides has now reached 248, with more than 100 people still missing, after rescue teams recovered more bodies in West Sumatra’s Agam district.
Recommended Stories
list of 3 itemsend of list
The BNPB said more than 500 people were also injured.
“The death toll is believed to be rising as many bodies are still missing, while many have not been reached,” BNPB chief Suharyanto said. Suharyanto, who, like many Indonesians, uses only one name.
West Sumatra Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Ilham Wahab said late Friday that 61 people had been killed and 90 were missing, updating the preliminary death toll of 23 across Sumatra province.
“A total of 75,219 people have been displaced and a total of 106,806 people have been affected across West Sumatra,” Ilham said.
116 people were later confirmed dead in North Sumatra, while the death toll in Aceh province reached at least 35, according to figures released by authorities.
A rare tropical storm in the Strait of Malacca between the Malay Peninsula and the Indonesian island of Sumatra has left swathes of Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand inundated with days of torrential rain – killing a combined total of nearly 400 people in the three countries.
At least 145 people were confirmed dead in Thailand’s eight southern provinces as of late Friday, while more than 3.5 million have been affected by floodwaters. Two people have been murdered in the neighboring country Malaysia.
While torrential rains in Indonesia finally stopped late Friday night, many people remain missing and thousands of families displaced.
Heavy rains caused rivers to swell in Indonesia’s North Sumatra province, flooding mountainous villages, sweeping away people and inundating thousands of homes and buildings.
The worst-affected areas are largely cut off from rescue teams due to damaged roads and communication lines, collapsed bridges, submerged roads and lack of heavy equipment are also hampering relief efforts.
Relief planes are continuing to deliver aid and supplies to the hard-hit central Tapanuli district of North Sumatra province and others in the region.
<a href