The death toll from devastating floods across Southeast Asia climbed to at least 183 people on Friday (28 November). Authorities in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Sri Lanka struggle to rescue stranded residents, restore power and communications, and deliver aid to cut-off communities.
Indonesia has been the worst affected, with 94 deaths confirmed on Sumatra, where cyclone-driven torrential rains and a rare tropical storm over the Malacca Strait have inundated entire districts since last week.
In Padang Pariaman alone, 22 people perished to floods, and many neighbourhoods remained under at least one metre of water. Some residents reported running out of food and supplies as search and rescue teams were unable to reach isolated areas due to blocked roads and ongoing communication outages.
Officials said airlifts would continue throughout Friday to deliver aid and deploy more rescuers.
Thailand reported at least 94 fatalities, 55 of which occured in the southern province of Songkhla. Although rain stopped in the regional hub of Hat Yai on Friday, floodwaters still reached residents’ ankles, and large parts of the city remained without electricity.
At an indoor basketball arena repurposed as an evacuation centre, 70-year-old Kritchawat Sothiananthakul tearfully described how he waited with his dog to be rescued, as floodwaters in his Hat Yai home rose relentlessly.
"We had to climb down from the roof, get into the boat," he said. "I needed to carry it and then get onto a truck... We had to leave everything because everything was submerged."
Thai meteorologists described the deluge as the most severe in 15 years, noting that Hat Yai recorded 335 mm (13 inches) of rain on Friday — the city’s highest single-day total in three centuries.
In Sri Lanka, authorities confirmed 46 deaths linked to the same weather system, which brought destructive winds and flooding to the island nation.
Malaysia reported two deaths and widespread displacement as tropical storm Senyar made landfall shortly after midnight before weakening. Meteorologists warned that heavy rain, strong winds and hazardous sea conditions remained likely.
One of the residents forced to leave her home due to flooding, NorZafilini Al-Zakiri, 35, has had to deal with the natural disaster just weeks after giving birth to her third child.
"With the baby and kids, we're so scared because we need to keep them safe, but I fight my fears and slowly rebuild here,” Al-Zakiri told Reuters.
More than 30,000 evacuees were still sheltering in relief centres on Friday, down from 34,000 the day before.
Malaysia’s foreign ministry said it had evacuated 1,459 citizens from more than 25 flood-affected hotels in Thailand and was working to rescue the remaining 300 Malaysians still stranded in inundated areas.
Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz has declared a state of emergency, authorising the military to clear roadblocks that have paralysed the economy for 50 ...
ISIS has claimed responsibility for killing two Syrian soldiers in the northern provine of Aleppo, in a statement on the group's Telegram channel. ...
A 46-year-old Italian tourist has died after a major fire tore through a beachfront hotel in the Dominican Republic, forcing the evacuation of nearly ...
Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned of an impending massive Russian attack on Ukraine. It comes days after Kyiv carried out a major aeri...
Iran's top joint military command, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, has said that the Strait of Hormuz is closed to ships again, citing a...
Thailand is reviving plans for one of its most ambitious infrastructure projects in decades, a proposed $30 billion “Land Bridge” that would connect the Gulf of Thailand with the Andaman Sea and offer an alternative trade route to the busy Strait of Malacca.
Thailand’s Princess Bajrakitiyabha Narendira Debyavati has died at the age of 47 after suffering prolonged health complications that left her in a coma for nearly four years.
A blaze at a popular market in northeast Thailand sent vendors fleeing and left five people in hospital, with police investigating a suspected electrical short circuit.
Thai investigators seized more than 100 protected wildlife remains after raiding a souvenir and traditional medicine shop accused of selling wildlife carcasses online.
A train driver has been killed and nine people remain in a critical condition in hospital, after two trains collided near Beford in the east of England on Friday. The passenger trains heading to London collided at around 17:15 local time (1615 GMT).
Morocco captain and PSG defender Achraf Hakimi will face trial in France after an appeals court ruled there was enough evidence for the case to proceed.
Paraguay kept their World Cup hopes alive with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Türkiye, but the celebrations were tempered by a costly red card for veteran forward Miguel Almirón.
Israel and Hezbollah have agreed to a ceasefire, a senior U.S. official has said. Hezbollah has released a statement saying Israel must leave southern Lebanon. Israel has said it agrees to the ceasefire, but has said its armed forces won't leave Lebanon and will resume hostilities if attacked.
A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck southwest of Greece’s island of Crete on Saturday, with no immediate reports of damage.
Scientists have identified almost 166,000 square kilometres of coral reefs worldwide that appear capable of surviving and recovering from the impacts of climate change, offering new hope for some of the planet's most vulnerable marine ecosystems.
Australia's weather bureau warned on Tuesday that an El Niño weather pattern has formed in the tropical Pacific and could intensify in the second half of 2026, becoming one of the strongest events recorded in seven decades.
France’s parliament has formally recognised state responsibility for the use of the toxic pesticide chlordecone in Martinique and Guadeloupe, marking a significant step in addressing decades of environmental contamination and public health concerns.
Financial markets are significantly underestimating the economic impact of biodiversity loss, potentially leaving countries exposed to sovereign debt crises and rising borrowing costs, according to new research published on Friday.
Wildlife researchers have identified dozens of previously unknown insect species during an expedition to Angola’s remote Lisima Plateau, a conservation group announced on Wednesday.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment