Indonesia’s disaster agency on Saturday reported a rise in the death toll from floods and landslides on the island of Sumatra, saying at least 883 people had been confirmed dead while more than 500 were missing.
The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) said the figures covered three provinces – Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra – which had been hit by days of intense rainfall that triggered overflowing rivers, landslides and severe damage to transport infrastructure.
The agency said 520 people were still unaccounted for and around 4,200 had been injured.
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A chain of tropical storms and monsoonal rains has pummelled Southeast and South Asia in recent days, triggering landslides and flash floods from the Sumatran rainforest to the highland plantations of Sri Lanka.
Some 1,770 people have been killed in natural disasters unfolding across Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam since last week.
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