(Al Jazeera Media Network) Flooding and landslides have killed more than 1,140 people across Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Malaysia following tropical storms in recent days, with efforts under way to help thousands affected by the extreme weather.
Arriving in North Sumatra on Monday, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto said the government’s priority was “how to immediately send the necessary aid.”
“There are several isolated villages that, God willing, we can reach,” Prabowo said, adding that the government was deploying helicopters and aircraft to aid the relief effort.
Prabowo has come under increasing pressure to declare a national emergency in response to flooding and landslides that have killed at least 604 people, with another 464 people still missing.
While he said “the worst has passed”, the state weather agency is forecasting further moderate to heavy rain, lightning and strong winds around Jakarta, and thunderstorms across West Nusa Tenggara, West Java and South Kalimantan.
Indonesia’s government has sent two hospital ships and three warships carrying aid to some of the worst-hit areas, where many roads remain impassable.
Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian said the government was not fully prepared for the scale of the disaster.
“The disaster is quite extensive in Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra,” he said, according to Indonesian outlet Tempo. “Similar to what happened in North Sumatra, it happened very quickly, and maybe we were not prepared for it.”
In Sungai Nyalo village, about 100 km from West Sumatra’s capital Padang, floodwaters had mostly receded on Sunday, leaving homes, vehicles and crops coated in thick grey mud.
Meanwhile, in Sri Lanka, the government has called for international aid and is using military helicopters to reach people stranded by flooding and landslides triggered by Cyclone Ditwah.
At least 366 people have been killed, according to authorities, with another 367 people missing.