Over 600 dead and millions affected as tropical storm batters Southeast Asia

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.

A rare tropical storm that formed in the Malacca Strait brought days of intense rain and strong winds, leaving 336 dead in Indonesia, 170 in Thailand and two in Malaysia. Nearly 3 million people in southern Thailand and 1.1 million in western Indonesia have been affected, according to official figures.

Across the Bay of Bengal, Sri Lankan authorities reported 153 deaths from a separate cyclone, with 191 people still missing and more than half a million affected.

In Indonesia, relief workers used helicopters to send supplies into remote parts of Sumatra, where three provinces were hit by major landslides and flooding. Roads remained blocked in several areas.

A Reuters photographer on a navy helicopter flying over isolated Palembayan in West Sumatra saw large areas of land and homes washed away. When the helicopter landed on a football field, dozens of residents were already waiting for food.

Officials said there had been reports of looting as frustration grew among people stranded without aid.

Afrianti, 41, from Padang in West Sumatra, said she and her family fled as floodwater rose inside their home.

"We came back on Friday and the house was gone, destroyed," she said. Her family of nine now lives in a makeshift tent beside the last wall still standing. “My home and business are gone. Nothing remains.”

Authorities reported 289 people missing and 213,000 displaced.

Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health said 170 people had died in floods across the south, up eight from Saturday, with 102 injured. Songkhla Province recorded the highest toll at 131.

Hat Yai, the region’s biggest city, received 335 mm of rain last Friday — its highest single-day rainfall in 300 years.

In Malaysia, about 24,500 people remained in evacuation centres, the national disaster agency said. Weather officials lifted tropical storm and rain warnings on Saturday, predicting clearer skies.

Parts of Malaysia were hit by strong winds and heavy rain last week. The foreign ministry said more than 6,200 Malaysians stranded in Thailand had been evacuated.

On Sunday, the ministry urged Malaysian citizens in Indonesia’s West Sumatra to register with the local consulate. It said a 30-year-old Malaysian national had been reported missing after a landslide.

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