Death Toll Tops 600 as Rare Tropical Storm Devastates Southeast Asia; Over 4 Million Affected

More than 600 people have died across three Southeast Asian countries after relentless rainfall triggered severe flooding and landslides, authorities said on Sunday. Rescue operations continued through the weekend as thousands of displaced residents awaited relief.

A rare tropical storm in the Malacca Strait unleashed a week of torrential rain and powerful winds, causing widespread destruction in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. Indonesia has reported 435 deaths, Thailand 170, and Malaysia three.

Even as floodwaters receded on Sunday, rescue and relief teams were still struggling to reach several affected regions. According to official data, more than four million people have been impacted—nearly three million in southern Thailand and about 110,000 in western Indonesia.

Across the Bay of Bengal, Sri Lanka reported 153 deaths from a separate cyclone, with 191 people missing and more than 500,000 affected nationwide.

Indonesia

Updated government data on Sunday showed Indonesia’s death toll had risen to 435, up from 303 the previous day. Authorities documented widespread destruction across three provinces in western Sumatra, where landslides and flash floods swept through large areas.

Road closures left several districts cut off, and damaged telecommunications infrastructure disrupted communication. Relief workers used helicopters to reach isolated communities.

A Reuters photographer, flying in a navy helicopter over Palembang in West Sumatra, witnessed large swathes of land submerged and homes washed away. At a football field where the aircraft landed, dozens of people were already waiting for food supplies.

Officials said on Saturday that there were reports of desperate residents intercepting relief convoys in other areas.

Afrianti, 41, who goes by one name, told Reuters in Padang, “The water entered our home and we panicked, so we fled. When we returned on Friday, the house was gone—completely destroyed.”

She and her family of nine have set up a tent beside the only wall left standing.
“My house and my business are gone. The shop is gone. Nothing is left. I can only stay beside this one remaining wall,” she said.

According to official figures, 406 people are still missing and 213,000 have been displaced.

Thailand and Malaysia

Thailand’s Public Health Ministry reported that the flood-related death toll in the country’s south had climbed to 170, up eight from Saturday, with 102 people injured. Songkhla province was the worst affected, with 131 deaths.

In Hat Yai, the largest city in Songkhla, 335 mm (13 inches) of rain fell on Friday—its heaviest single-day rainfall in 300 years—followed by days of persistent downpours.

In neighbouring Malaysia, about 18,700 people remain in evacuation centres, according to the National Disaster Management Agency. Weather officials lifted storm and heavy-rain warnings on Saturday and forecast clearer skies for most of the country.

Last week, several regions were hit by severe rain and strong winds. Malaysia’s Foreign Ministry said it had evacuated more than 6,200 Malaysian citizens stranded in Thailand. On Sunday, the ministry advised Malaysian residents in West Sumatra to register with the local consulate for assistance, following reports that a 30-year-old Malaysian man had gone missing after a landslide.