Extreme weather has killed nearly 1,000 people across southern and south-eastern Asia as cyclones turbocharged rain systems across the region
Tropical cyclones have combined with heavy monsoon rains to lay waste to swathes of Asia, killing close to 1,000 people and leaving many more homeless.
Parts of the Indonesian archipelago have been particularly hard hit, with the death toll reaching 442 following flooding that began about a week ago, a number that is expected to rise. Nearly 300,000 people have been displaced and nearly 3,000 houses damaged, including 827 that were flattened or swept away.
In the Indonesian island of Sumatra, videos circulating on social media showed people scrambling across crumbling barricades, flooded roads and broken glass to get their hands on food, medicine and fuel. Some were wading through waist-deep floodwaters to reach damaged convenience stores.
Police spokesperson Ferry Walintukan said regional police had been deployed to restore order. “The looting happened before logistical aid arrived,” Walintukan said. “[Residents] didn’t know that aid would come and were worried they would starve.”
