<
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/dec/02/indonesia-floods-one-million-people-evacuated-death-toll-rises>
"The number of people killed by floods and landslides on Indonesia’s Sumatra
island rose to 708 on Tuesday, the country’s disaster agency said, with 504
people missing.
The toll was a sharp increase from the 604 dead reported by the agency on
Monday.
Heavy monsoon rains and tropical cyclones have devastated parts of Asia this
week, including Indonesia, Sri Lanka and southern Thailand, killing more than
1,300 people across the region, destroying infrastructure and inundating towns.
About 3.2 million people have been affected and 2,600 injured in Indonesia
alone. A million people have been evacuated from high-risk areas. It was
earlier reported that 753 people had died, but the figure was revised down to
708 on Tuesday evening.
Aid workers and response teams are racing to reach survivors, but have been
hampered by blocked roads and broken bridges. Some areas, including Tapanuli
Tengah in North Sumatra and Agam in Aceh, were inaccessible by road, according
to Unicef.
In Aceh, one of the hardest-hit areas, markets are running out of rice,
vegetables and other essentials, and prices have tripled, according to Islamic
Relief, which is sending 12 tonnes of emergency food aid. “Communities across
Aceh are at severe risk of food shortages and hunger if supply lines are not
re-established in the next seven days,” the charity said.
The Indonesian government said on Monday it was sending 34,000 tonnes of rice
and 6.8m litres of cooking oil to Aceh, as well as the provinces North Sumatra
and West Sumatra.
The World Health Organization said it was deploying rapid response teams and
critical supplies to the region, and strengthening disease surveillance.
The WHO director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, told reporters in Geneva
that it was “another reminder of how climate change is driving more frequent
and more extreme weather events, with disastrous effects”."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
