Indonesia and Thailand flooding death toll tops 350 as rescuers struggle to reach worst-hit areas | Indonesia

The death toll from devastating floods and landslides in Southeast Asia exceeded 350 on Saturday, as clean-up and search and rescue operations launched in Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia.

Heavy monsoon rains affected all three countries this week, killing hundreds and leaving thousands stranded, many waiting on rooftops to be rescued.

Rescue teams in Indonesia were struggling to reach the worst-hit areas of the island of Sumatra, where more than 100 people were still missing.

Floods and landslides in Indonesia have killed more than 200 people, according to disaster officials’ figures.

“As of tonight, 61 deaths have been recorded and 90 are still being sought,” a spokesman for West Sumatra’s regional disaster mitigation agency, Ilham Wahab, said in a statement late Friday, updating the previous death toll for the province to 23.

According to the figures announced by the agency, 116 more people died in North Sumatra, while the death toll in Aceh province was at least 35 people.

Suharyanto, head of the national disaster agency, said at a press conference that a cloud planting operation will begin in West Sumatra to reduce rainfall, most of which had decreased on Saturday.

In southern Thailand’s Songkhla province, water levels reached three meters and at least 145 people died in the worst flooding in a decade. The government said the death toll in the country was 162.

Workers at a hospital in hard-hit Hat Yai moved bodies into refrigerated trucks after the morgue exceeded its capacity.

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul visited a shelter for evacuees in the area on Friday.

“I really have to apologize to them for allowing this to happen during my time in government,” he told reporters in footage broadcast on AmarinTV.

“The next step is to prevent the situation from worsening,” he added, announcing a two-week timeframe for cleaning the area.

The Thai government has implemented relief measures for those affected by the floods, including compensation of up to 2 million baht ($62,000) to households that lost family members.

As the floodwaters receded, store owner Rachane Remsringam rummaged through trash strewn across the aisles of her general food store, bemoaning the loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

He said his store, Madam Yong’s, was looted and vandalized following the disaster.

Public criticism of Thailand’s flood response is growing and two local officials have been suspended over alleged failures.

A lawmaker from the opposition People’s Party criticized the administration, saying it “misjudged the situation” and “made mistakes in handling the flood crisis.”

Two people lost their lives in the flood disaster caused by heavy rains in Malaysia, which flooded some areas in the north of Perlis state.

The annual monsoon season, typically between June and September, often brings heavy rainfall, causing landslides and flash floods.

A tropical storm has worsened conditions, and tolls in Indonesia and Thailand are among the highest flooding in those countries in recent years.

Climate change has affected storm patterns, including the length and intensity of the season, leading to more precipitation, flash floods and stronger winds.