SIBOLGA, Indonesia: Forecasts of fresh rain on Thursday (Dec 4) raised fears of more damage in flood-hit Indonesia and Sri Lanka, after earlier deluges killed more than 1,500 people in four countries.
In Indonesia, the weather agency warned the three hardest-hit provinces on the island of Sumatra will see “moderate to heavy” rain between Thursday and Friday.
The downpour started overnight, but so far has not reached near the intensity that led to destructive flash-flooding and landslides last week.
“We are afraid that if it rains suddenly, the flood will come again,” 54-year-old Sabandi told AFP at a shelter in Pandan, North Sumatra.
Indonesia’s death toll on Thursday stood at 776, revised down slightly from a day earlier as information arrived from remote, inaccessible areas.
More than 560 people remain missing, with patchy communications and electricity making it hard to confirm their whereabouts.
Sabandi, who goes by one name, said she was stranded on her roof for two days without food or water before she could evacuate.
“My house was filled with mud,” she said – so high she could not enter.
LOSING SLEEP
While across Asia seasonal monsoons bring rainfall that farmers depend on, climate change is making the phenomenon more erratic, unpredictable and deadly across the region.
Two separate weather systems drenched all of Sri Lanka, Sumatra, parts of southern Thailand and northern Malaysia last week.
The scale of the disaster has made relief efforts challenging.
In Indonesia’s Banda Aceh, an AFP reporter said the line for fuel at one gas station extended 4km.
The provincial governor led a relief group to the devastated Aceh Tamiang region late Wednesday, delivering 30 tonnes of necessities including drinking water, rice, instant noodles, biscuits, eggs and medicine, according to a statement.
In nearby Langsa city, 49-year-old Erni sheltered with her family in an Islamic prayer hall after floods devastated their home.
They had received enough drinking water and food aid to last a few days, but power outages and irregular access to clean water were making it difficult to clean up, Erni said.
“The wardrobe, table, refrigerator – all are ruined,” she told AFP.
“THE VILLAGE IS A CEMETERY”
In Sri Lanka, forecasters said the northeast monsoon was due to arrive from Thursday afternoon.
Landslide alerts were renewed for some of the worst-hit areas of the central region, and residents were advised not to return home as the already saturated slopes could collapse under more rainfall.
But some were searching for the missing on Thursday in the village of Hadabima, where 18 bodies have been pulled out of six homes flattened by landslides, survivor VK Muthukrishnan told AFP.
Six people remained unaccounted for, the 42-year-old electrician said.
“We can’t live here anymore because this village is now a cemetery,” Muthukrishnan said.
At least 479 people have been killed in Sri Lanka, and hundreds remain missing, with the president appealing for international support.
Authorities estimate they will need up to US$7 billion to rebuild homes, industries and roads, a tough ask for a country still emerging from its worst-ever economic crisis three years ago.
Outside the capital Colombo on Wednesday, some residents were returning to homes still filled with floodwaters a foot high.
Soma Wanniarachchi, 69, had stayed behind as long as she could, “but when the water level reached about eight feet (2.5m), I decided to leave,” she told AFP.
Back in her village of Kotuwila, near Colombo, she was shocked to see the damage to her catering equipment rental business.
“My stainless steel utensils are now probably in the Indian Ocean,” she said.