At least 460 killed in south-east Asia floods and landslides, reports say | Indonesia

The death toll from devastating floods and landslides in Southeast Asia was reported to have passed 460 on Saturday, as clean-up and search and rescue operations began in Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia.

Heavy monsoon rains submerged large swaths of the three countries this week, killing hundreds and leaving thousands stranded, many on rooftops awaiting rescue.

In Indonesia, relief efforts have struggled to reach the worst-hit areas of Sumatra island, where at least 303 people have died and 279 remain missing.

Rescuers in North Sumatra recovered 31 more bodies on Saturday, a provincial police spokesman said.

In West Sumatra, 61 deaths were recorded and 90 people were missing, a spokesperson for the regional disaster mitigation agency said Friday evening. In Aceh province, the death toll stands at at least 35, according to figures published by the agency.

More than 3,500 police officers have been deployed to search for those still missing and help distribute aid to more than 28,400 people who have fled to temporary government shelters across the province.

About 80,000 people have been evacuated and hundreds remain stranded in three provinces on Sumatra island, Indonesia’s westernmost region, national disaster agency head Suharyanto told a news conference, adding that a cloud-seeding operation would begin in West Sumatra to reduce rainfall, most of which had already eased by Saturday.

In Thailand, more than 1.4 million households – or 3.8 million people – have been affected by floods, the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation announced on Saturday.

In southern Thailand, water levels reached 3 meters in Songkhla province and killed at least 145 people in one of the worst floods in a decade.

The death toll in eight provinces of the country rose to 162, the government announced on Saturday..

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

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul visited an evacuee shelter in the district on Friday and told reporters he recognized the government’s shortcomings in handling the floods.

“I really have to apologize to them for allowing this to happen while I’m in government,” he said in footage broadcast on AmarinTV.

“The next step is to prevent the situation from getting worse,” he added, announcing a two-week deadline for cleaning up the district.

The Thai government has implemented relief measures for those affected by the floods, including compensation of up to 2 million baht ($62,000, £46,800) for households who lost family members.

As the floodwaters receded, store owner Rachane Remsringam picked up trash scattered between the aisles of his general merchandise store, lamenting hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses.

His store, Madame Yong, was looted and vandalized following the disaster, he said.

Public criticism of Thailand’s flood response has mounted and two local officials have been suspended over their alleged failures.

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

One flood victim, Amphorn Kaeohengkro, told Reuters she and seven family members spent 48 hours perched on a table, window frame and washing machine on the second floor of her home in the town of Hat Yai, which received 335 mm (13 inches) of rain last Friday – its highest daily tally in 300 years.

“We couldn’t think of anything other than surviving,” the 44-year-old woman told Reuters by candlelight as her family began cleaning their home after the floodwaters receded.

Two people have been killed in Malaysia after flooding caused by heavy rain left parts of northern Perlis state underwater.

The annual monsoon season, usually between June and September, often brings heavy rains, triggering landslides and flash floods.

A tropical storm has worsened the situation, and the consequences of flooding in Indonesia and Thailand are among the highest in recent years in these countries.

Climate change has altered storm patterns, including season length and intensity, leading to heavier precipitation, flash flooding, and stronger wind gusts.

Reporting by Reuters and Agence France-Presse from Padang, Indonesia