Southeast Asia Flood Disaster: Death Toll Surges Past 350 as Indonesia and Thailand Battle Widespread Devastation

According to Rokna, citing The Guardian, the death toll from severe flooding and landslides across south-east Asia rose to more than 350 on Saturday, as large-scale clean-up efforts and search and rescue operations continued in Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia. Days of intense monsoon rainfall inundated vast areas of the three countries, killing hundreds and leaving thousands trapped, many of them waiting for help on rooftops.

In Indonesia, rescue teams were still struggling to reach the hardest-hit regions of Sumatra island, where more than 100 people remained unaccounted for. Floods and landslides across the country have claimed over 200 lives, according to national disaster officials.
“As of tonight, 61 fatalities have been recorded and 90 people are still being searched for,” Ilham Wahab, spokesperson for West Sumatra’s regional disaster mitigation agency, said late on Friday, revising an earlier provincial toll of 23.
In North Sumatra, another 116 people had died, while the number of deaths in Aceh province had reached at least 35, based on official figures.

Suharyanto, head of the national disaster agency, told reporters that cloud-seeding operations would be launched in West Sumatra to help reduce rainfall, most of which had already eased by Saturday.

In southern Thailand, floodwaters surged to three metres in Songkhla province, killing at least 145 people in what authorities described as one of the region’s most severe floods in a decade. The national death toll climbed to 162, officials confirmed.
At a hospital in the heavily affected city of Hat Yai, staff had to move bodies into refrigerated trucks after the morgue reached capacity. Prime minister Anutin Charnvirakul visited an evacuation centre in the district on Friday.
“I sincerely apologise to them for this happening while I am in office,” he told reporters in footage aired by AmarinTV. He said preventing further deterioration was the government’s priority and announced a two-week deadline for the district’s clean-up.

Thailand’s government has introduced financial relief for flood victims, including compensation of up to 2m baht ($62,000) for families who lost loved ones.
As the waters began to recede, shop owner Rachane Remsringam picked through debris scattered across his general store, Madam Yong, lamenting losses amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars. He said the shop had been looted and vandalised in the aftermath of the flooding.

Public criticism of Thailand’s disaster response has increased, and two local officials have been suspended over alleged negligence. A lawmaker from the opposition People’s party condemned the government, saying it had “misjudged the situation” and made “mistakes in managing the flood crisis.”

In Malaysia, two people died after heavy rain triggered flooding that submerged parts of northern Perlis state.

The annual monsoon season, typically running from June to September, routinely brings heavy rainfall that can cause landslides and flash floods. This year, the situation has been intensified by a tropical storm, making the death tolls in Indonesia and Thailand among the highest the two countries have faced in recent years. Scientists say climate change is reshaping storm behaviour, including duration and intensity, leading to heavier rainfall, more flash flooding and stronger winds.