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.
The death toll from devastating floods across Southeast Asia climbed to at least 183 people on Friday (28 November). Authorities in Indonesia, Malaysi...
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for the 28th of November, covering the latest developments you need to...
Washington is set to "permanently pause" work on migration from all "Third World Countries." U.S. President Donald Trump announced the move on Thursda...
The U.S. will "very soon" start taking action to stop suspected Venezuelan drug traffickers on land, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday....
A National Guard member has died Thursday evening after being shot near the White House on Wednesday in an ambush that investigators say was carried o...
Around 2,000 critically ill patients, staff and family are set to be airlifted from Hat Yai Hospital, in southern Thailand after being marooned by recent flooding on Friday (21 November) that killed at least 33 people.
Thailand will proceed with talks to finalise a reciprocal trade agreement with the United States, a government spokesperson confirmed on Saturday. The discussions will be kept separate from the ongoing border dispute with Cambodia.
King Maha Vajiralongkorn will make history on Thursday as the first reigning Thai monarch to visit China. The visit signals China’s growing influence in Thailand, with both countries strengthening their diplomatic and economic ties.
Thailand has extradited Chinese national She Zhijiang to China, where he faces trial for running illegal online casinos and laundering money via Myanmar, Thai police confirmed on Wednesday.
At least 47 people have died and another 21 are reported missing following ten days of heavy rainfall, floods, and landslides across Sri Lanka, local media reported on Thursday (27 November).
Hong Kong fire authorities said they expected to wrap up search and rescue operations on Friday after the city's worst fire in nearly 80 years tore through a massive apartment complex, killing at least 128 people, injuring 79 and leaving around 200 still missing.
A passenger aircraft from Polish carrier LOT veered off a taxiway at Lithuania's Vilnius airport after arriving from Warsaw on Wednesday, halting all traffic, the airport operator said.
Netflix crashed on Wednesday for about an hour in the U.S. as it launched season five of "Stranger Things", with the service becoming inaccessible to many subscribers within minutes of the episodes going live at 8 p.m. local time.
Thousands of Bulgarians took to the streets of Sofia on Wednesday to protest against the government’s draft budget for 2026, the first to be prepared in euros ahead of the country’s planned eurozone entry on 1 January 2026.
At least 47 people have died and another 21 are reported missing following ten days of heavy rainfall, floods, and landslides across Sri Lanka, local media reported on Thursday (27 November).
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.
Floods and landslides brought about by torrential rain in Indonesia's North Sumatra province have killed at least 28 people by Thursday, with rescue efforts hampered by what an official described as a "total cut-off" of roads and communications.
Cameras from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) on Saturday (22 November) captured Hawaii's Kilauea volcano spewing flowing lava from its crater in its latest eruption.
COP30 ended in Brazil with a compromise agreement that expands financial support for countries facing the sharpest climate impacts, after tense negotiations stretched beyond the summit’s deadline.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment