Roads slow relief efforts after Asia’s deadly floods

Emergency teams are racing against time after floods and landslides hit parts of Asia and killed more than 1,500 people.

Relief operations continue, but the scale of needs exceeds the capabilities of rescuers.

Officials said that 867 people were confirmed dead in Indonesia, 486 in Sri Lanka, 185 in Thailand and three in Malaysia.

Many villages in Indonesia and Sri Lanka were buried under mud and debris; Approximately 900 people in both countries are still unaccounted for. In Thailand and Malaysia, recovery progressed further.

As the waters recede, the survivors realize that the disaster has paralyzed the lifelines of their village.

The roads that once connected cities and towns to the outside world have been cut and some areas can only be reached by helicopter.

Transmission towers collapsed due to landslides, plunging communities into darkness and causing internet outages.

In Aceh Tamiang, the worst-hit region of Aceh province, infrastructure is in ruins and entire villages in the lush hills region lie under a thick blanket of mud.

More than 260,000 residents once fled their homes in green farmland.

Floodwaters, along with contamination of wells and ruptured pipes, turned necessities into luxuries.

Food is scarce and the smell of decay is heavy in the air.

Helicopters have begun deploying to drop food, medicine and blankets in isolated pockets of Aceh Tamiang, where clean water, sanitation and shelter top the list of urgent priorities.

For many, survival depends on the speed of aid.

National Disaster Management Agency spokesman Abdul Muhari said trucks carrying relief supplies were moving along roads connecting North Sumatra’s Medan city to Aceh Tamiang, which reopened almost a week after the disaster, but the distribution was slowed by debris on the roads.

Television reports showed widespread devastation following flash floods in Aceh Tamiang, while two hospitals and 15 community health centers remained idle.

As waterborne diseases approach, medical teams are making preparations in crowded shelters and struggling with medicine and personnel shortages.

On a battered bridge over the swollen Tamiang River, families struggle to survive under makeshift tarps.

Vira, who survived there, burst into tears and shouted, “We have nothing left.”

“We drank flood water from discarded bottles and collected debris that the current brought to us,” Vira, who goes by only one name, said in a television interview on Thursday.

Another resident, Angga, described how he and 13 relatives and neighbors clung to the tin roof of a shattered building for four nights.

“Currently, even eight days after the floods destroyed our village, no help has reached us; neither helicopter nor rescue team,” Angga said. he said.

“We had no choice but to drink the water that destroyed our homes.”