Catastrophic flooding across south-east Asia has left at least 600 people dead and tens of thousands displaced after villages were submerged under water.
Monsoon rain exacerbated by tropical storms caused some of the region’s worst flooding in years, with millions affected in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Sri Lanka.
Relentless rainfall began Wednesday on the Indonesian island of Sumatra where at least 303 people have died.
A resident of Bireuen in Sumatra’s Aceh province told local media: ‘During the flood, everything was gone. I wanted to save my clothes, but my house came down.’
With hundreds still missing, the death toll is likely to rise. Thousands remain stranded, some awaiting rescue on rooftops.
As of Saturday, more than 300 people had died in Indonesia and 160 in Thailand, with over 130 fatalities reported in Sri Lanka and at least two in Malaysia.
An exceptionally rare tropical cyclone, named Cyclone Senyar, caused catastrophic landslides and flooding in Indonesia, with homes swept away and thousands of buildings submerged.
Indonesia’s disaster agency said on Saturday that nearly 300 people were still missing after flooding devastated Sumatra.
‘The current was very fast, in a matter of seconds it reached the streets, entered the houses,’ a resident in Aceh Province, Arini Amalia, told the BBC.
A man transports a woman through flood waters in Hat Yai in Thailand’s southern Songkhla province on November 26, 2025
A cat walks on the roof of a house near a bridge and buildings damaged in flooding in Tanah Datar, West Sumatra, Indonesia
An aerial view shows homes surrounded by flood waters in Kangar in northern Malaysia’s Perlis state on November 28, 2025
Sri Lankan flood victims wade through a flooded road during heavy rainfall in the suburb of Colombo, Sri Lanka, 28 November 2025
Across the border in Malaysia, the overall death toll remains comparatively low, but the destruction is severe.
Entire communities in the northern states have endured days of rising water, with two confirmed fatalities and tens of thousands of people forced into evacuation centres.
Authorities say floodwaters have engulfed farmland, cut off rural roads and left several districts without power as emergency crews struggle to reach isolated villages.
In Thailand, more than 1.4 million households and 3.8 million people have been affected by floods triggered by heavy rains in 12 southern provinces, the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation said Saturday.
Government spokesperson Siripong Angkasakulkiat said in a news conference in Bangkok that 162 deaths have been confirmed in eight provinces, particularly in Songkhla province which recorded at least 126 deaths.
The scale of the flooding and the high number of casualties have sparked widespread criticism of the government.
Rescuers search for victims at a village hit by flooding in Malalak, West Sumatra, Indonesia
Two youths look at a car surrounded by high flood waters in Hat Yai in Thailand’s southern Songkhla province on November 26, 2025
An aerial view shows a home surrounded by flood waters in Kangar in northern Malaysia’s Perlis state on November 28, 2025
Rubble on a street as the floodwaters begin to recede in Hat Yai, Songkhla province, southern Thailand
Cars submerged by floodwaters at the town of Kangar, state of Perlis, Malaysia, 28 November 2025
Anutin told reporters Saturday that he acknowledged the government’s shortcomings in flood management, and said that when he visited the affected areas, he had apologised to the people ‘that the government was unable to take care and protect them.’
Anutin said the government would begin distributing compensation payments to those affected by the floods next week.
He also outlined additional relief measures, including debt suspension and short-term, interest-free loans for businesses and home repairs.
The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation reported that water levels began to recede across all affected provinces on Saturday morning.
Video footage showed local residents returning to their homes, which had previously been submerged, to inspect the damage. Furniture and personal belongings were seen scattered across the floors.
Sri Lanka is grappling with one of its worst weather disasters in recent years, with more than 130 people dead and some 170 missing after days of flooding and landslides triggered by Cyclone Ditwah.
An aerial picture taken with a drone shows a bridge broken due to flooding at a flood-affected village in the Meureudu area, Pidie Jaya, Aceh, Indonesia
Debris lies at an area hit by deadly flash floods following heavy rains in Batang Toru, South Tapanuli, North Sumatra, Indonesia
A general view shows a truck trapped in mud following flash floods in Meureudu, Pidie Jaya district of Indonesia’s Aceh province
Rescuers spray water to clear up mud as they search for victims at the site of a landslide in Adiankoting, North Sumatra, Indonesia, Saturday, November 29, 2025
Nearly 78,000 people have been displaced and are in temporary shelters, the South Asian country’s disaster management centre said.
Social media posts on Saturday showed several areas affected by overnight mudslides that authorities have yet to reach.
Severe weather has battered the island since last week. Conditions worsened Thursday, with heavy downpours that flooded homes, fields and roads and triggered landslides mainly in the tea-growing central hill country.
The government closed schools and offices and postponed examinations. Most reservoirs and rivers have overflowed, blocking roads.
Passenger trains were halted and routes closed in many parts of the country after rocks, mud and trees fell on roads and railway tracks.
By Friday, water flowing downstream from severely affected areas began to inundate regions around the capital, Colombo, which experienced comparatively less rainfall.
Authorities say that Ditwah, which developed in the seas east of Sri Lanka, is likely to move toward India’s southern coast by Sunday.
A resident walks past a stranded car stuck in deep mud following flash floods in Meureudu, Pidie Jaya district in Indonesia’s Aceh province on November 28, 2025
Residents move a motorcycle amid flash floods in Meureudu, Pidie Jaya district in Indonesia’s Aceh province
A resident clears deep mud from the entrance of an inundated home following flash floods in Meureudu, Pidie Jaya district in Indonesia’s Aceh province
Neighbouring India dispatched two search and rescue teams, comprising 80 rescuers, and sent aid to support ongoing operations, the country’s embassy in Colombo said Saturday.
Sri Lanka has declared a state of emergency. More than 15,000 homes have been destroyed and about a third of the country is without electricity or running water.
Meteorologists have said the extreme weather across south-east Asia may have been caused by the interaction of Typhoon Koto in the Philippines and the rare formation of Cyclone Senyar in the Malacca Strait.
The region’s annual monsoon season, typically between June and September, often brings heavy rain.
