Flooding Across Asia Leaves 600 Dead as Cyclones Intensify Monsoon Rains

Torrential rains have unleashed deadly floods and landslides across southern Asia, killing around 600 people and leaving hundreds more missing.

Millions have been affected across Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Sri Lanka, as rescue operations struggle to keep pace with the scale of the devastation.

The flooding began after intense monsoon rains, amplified by a series of tropical storms, swept through the region this week. Officials say the combination of seasonal downpours and rare cyclonic activity has produced some of the most severe weather seen in years.

On the Indonesian island of Sumatra, rainfall intensified on Wednesday and quickly submerged towns and villages. ‘During the flood, everything was gone,’ a resident of Aceh province told Reuters. ‘I wanted to save my clothes, but my house came down.’

With many communities still cut off, authorities warn that the death toll is likely to rise. Thousands of people remain stranded on rooftops or in isolated areas, awaiting rescue teams delayed by dangerous conditions.

Indonesia has been the hardest hit so far, with more than 300 deaths reported by Saturday. Thailand has confirmed at least 160 fatalities, while several more have been recorded in Malaysia.

Sri Lanka, which is already grappling with damage from Cyclone Ditwah, has reported more than 130 deaths and at least 170 people missing. The government has declared a state of emergency as flooding continues to spread across the country.

Rare Weather Phenomenon

A particularly rare weather phenomenon, Cyclone Senyar, has worsened the crisis in Indonesia by triggering catastrophic landslides and sending torrents of water through already saturated landscapes.

Meteorologists say the extreme weather across South East Asia may have been caused by the interaction of Typhoon Koto in the Philippines with Cyclone Senyar’s rare formation in the Malacca Strait. This combination intensified rainfall across the region and contributed to the widespread flooding.

Rescue teams report that fast-moving currents, collapsed bridges and ongoing rain are hampering access to the worst-affected areas.

Residents who survived described water rising at extraordinary speed. One woman in Aceh province told the BBC that the flood ‘entered the houses in seconds,’ forcing her and her grandmother to run to higher ground. When she returned the next day, she found the home completely underwater.

Another resident, Meri Osman from West Sumatra, said he was swept away after water surged through his home, surviving only by clinging to a clothesline until help arrived.

In Thailand, the southern province of Songkhla has endured some of its worst flooding in a decade, with more than 3.8 million people impacted by the disaster. Hat Yai city saw 335mm of rainfall in just one day, the heaviest in three centuries, overwhelming infrastructure and causing a rapid rise in the death toll.

In one Hat Yai hospital, morgue capacity was exceeded, forcing staff to move bodies into refrigerated trucks, according to AFP. Residents described being stranded without assistance for days. ‘We were stuck in the water for seven days and no agency came to help,’ one local woman told BBC Thai.

Thailand’s government has announced several relief measures, including compensation of up to two million baht ($62,000) for families who lost loved ones.

Neighbouring Malaysia has recorded fewer fatalities, but floodwaters have devastated parts of northern Perlis state. Tens of thousands of residents have been forced from their homes.

The monsoon season between June and September typically brings heavy rain, but scientists say climate change is altering the intensity and timing of storms. Rising temperatures in the region are contributing to heavier rainfall, prolonged flooding and increasingly unpredictable weather patterns.