Torrential rain has left Sri Lanka and parts of Indonesia’s Sumatra, southern Thailand and northern Malaysia under waterFlooding and landslides have killed at least 954 people in 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”.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list“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 442 people, with hundreds more missing.Unlike his Sri Lankan counterpart, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, Prabowo has so far refrained from publicly calling for international assistance.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.In Sungai Nyalo village, about 100km (62 miles) from West Sumatra’s capital Padang, floodwaters had mostly receded on Sunday, leaving homes, vehicles and crops coated in thick grey mud.“Most villagers chose to stay; they didn’t want to leave their houses behind,” Idris, 55, who, like many Indonesians, goes by one name, told the AFP news agency. Rescue personnel walk past debris as they evacuate a sick villager to the nearest hospital in Bireuen, Aceh province, Indonesia, on November 29, 2025 [Amanda Jufrian/AFP]Sri Lanka seeks aidMeanwhile, in Sri Lan …
