Rescuers in Thailand readied drones on Thursday to airdrop food parcels, as receding floodwaters in the south and neighbouring Malaysia brightened hopes for the evacuation of those stranded for days, while cyclone havoc in Indonesia killed at least 28.
Severe floods after a week of heavy rain have killed at least 33 in Thailand and two in neighbouring Malaysia, with tens of thousands huddling in evacuation centres.
"It's a race against time," Thai government spokesperson Siripong Angkasakulkiat told Nation TV, adding that rescue teams were preparing to use drones to deliver food parcels.
The receding floodwaters are allowing disaster teams in Thailand and Malaysia to boost aid deliveries and efforts to move people out of waterlogged homes.
The floods affected nearly 3 million in nine southern Thai provinces, authorities said, with 3,000 moved to safety from the worst-hit city of Hat Yai, including some critically ill airlifted on Wednesday from a partially swamped hospital.
TROPICAL CYCLONE DEVASTATES INDONESIAN PROVINCE
In Indonesia's province of North Sumatra, a tropical cyclone unleashed floods and landslides to kill at least 28, with 10 missing.
Power outages and damaged bridges and homes hampered rescue efforts, the disaster agency said.
Meteorologists say current extremes of weather in Southeast Asia could stem from the interaction of two active systems, Typhoon Koto in the Philippines and the unusual formation of Cyclone Senyar in the Malacca Strait.
'THE WATER WAS LIKE THE OCEAN'
In Malaysia, with floods in seven states, authorities said more than 34,000 people were evacuated from areas, and about 500 nationals were still stranded in the Thai tourist destination of Hat Yai.
Container lorries were used to bring home some Malaysians, the foreign minister told parliament on Thursday, as smaller vehicles were unable to traverse the floodwaters.
In the smallest state of Perlis, Gon Qasim said rising waters trapped her in her home in the middle of a paddy field.
"The water was like the ocean," the 73-year-old evacuee said.
Teams in Hat Yai worked into the dark on Wednesday, racing to reach the stranded after more boats arrived for the rescue effort, navigating the challenges of both strong currents and shallows.
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The death toll from last week’s landslide in Indonesia has climbed to 60 as search and rescue teams continued operations on the seventh day to locate 20 people still missing in West Java.
Indonesia's military stepped up its relief efforts in three provinces on Sumatra island that have been devastated by deadly floods and landslides, and the country's vice president apologised for shortcomings in the response to last week's disaster.
At least 12 people have died and 20 more were injured after a landslide struck Peru’s Amazon region, sinking two boats on the Ucayali River, local health authorities reported on Monday.
More than 600 people have died and over 4 million have been affected after a rare tropical storm brought a week of heavy rain, floods and landslides to Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia, as rescue teams struggle to reach isolated communities.
Tensions in the region remained high on Tuesday (10 March), as the United States and Iran exchanged increasingly sharp warnings, including threats over the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a critical artery for global oil supplies.
China has urged Afghanistan and Pakistan to resolve their dispute through dialogue after Chinese envoy Yue Xiaoyong met Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, as fighting between the two neighbours entered its eleventh day.
Almost 2,000 people have been evacuated from Iran via Azerbaijan since conflict erupted in the Middle East.
Global oil prices reached a four year high on Monday (9 March), surpassing $119 a barrel, as conflict in the Middle East rumbled on. Meanwhile, the Turkish Military said NATO air defence systems destroyed a missile fired from Iran towards the country.
U.S. President Donald Trump called his recent phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin “very good.” The two leaders spoke on Monday about the situation in Iran and other international issues.
The death toll from heavy rains and flooding in Brazil’s Minas Gerais state has risen to 46, authorities said, with 21 people still reported missing. The storms triggered landslides and widespread flooding, displacing thousands across Juiz de Fora and Uba.
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday (12 February) announced the repeal of a scientific finding that greenhouse gas emissions endanger human health, and eliminated federal tailpipe emissions standards for cars and trucks.
Tropical Cyclone Gezani has killed at least 31 people and left four others missing after tearing through eastern Madagascar, the government said on Wednesday, with the island nation’s second-largest city bearing the brunt of the destruction.
Rivers and reservoirs across Spain and Portugal were on the verge of overflowing on Wednesday as a new weather front pounded the Iberian peninsula, compounding damage from last week's Storm Kristin.
Morocco has evacuated more than 100,000 people from four provinces after heavy rainfall triggered flash floods across several northern regions, the Interior Ministry said on Wednesday.
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