Indonesia’s president told survivors of last week’s devastating floods that help was arriving to those in need Monday as Asian governments scaled up their responses to a disaster that has left greater than 1,000 dead in three countries.
A whole bunch more are missing following flooding and landslides prior to now week, which killed not less than 604 people in Indonesia, 366 in Sri Lanka and 176 in Thailand, authorities said.
Indonesia President Prabowo Subianto pledged to rebuild infrastructure while visiting areas impacted by floods and landslides on Sumatra island that left hundreds homeless and 464 people missing as of Monday.
Some areas of Indonesia remained unreachable Monday after the disaster damaged roads and downed communications lines, with residents in impacted areas counting on aircraft delivering supplies. Flooding displaced 290,700 people in North Sumatra, West Sumatra and Aceh provinces, the National Disaster Management Agency said.
Prabowo, who visited devastated provinces of North Sumatra, West Sumatra and Aceh on Monday, said the federal government’s response is reaching those in need.
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“We’d like to confront climate change effectively,” Prabowo told reporters after visiting survivors in North Sumatra. “Local governments must take a big role in safeguarding the environment and preparing for the acute weather conditions that can arise from future climate change.”
He vowed to assist affected families rebuild houses that were flattened or swept away by floods. During a gathering with displaced people under tents in West Sumatra’s Padang Pariaman district, Prabowo said they might “not face the burden of this disaster alone.”
Prabowo also met with a whole bunch of survivors who fled to a government shelter in Aceh’s Kutacane district.
Sri Lanka authorities said Monday that rescuers are still looking for 367 missing people. About 218,000 individuals are housed in temporary shelters after being battered prior to now week downpours that flooded homes, fields and roads and triggered landslides, primarily within the tea-growing central hill country.
In Thailand, the primary batch of compensation payments are set to be distributed Monday, starting with 239 million baht ($7.4 million) for 26,000 people, government spokesperson Siripong Angkasakulkiat said.
He said authorities on Monday worked to wash up streets and restore infrastructure including water and electricity within the southern a part of the country, where severe flooding affected greater than 1.5 million households and three.9 million people.
The Interior Ministry will arrange public kitchens to supply freshly cooked food for affected residents, he said.
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