Disasters take severe toll in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong

Severe flooding and landslides in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia has killed nearly 1,000 people and displaced thousands more as military personnel are being deployed to rescue the victims. 

Following the death of at least 442 people and over a hundred missing, Indonesia has declared a national emergency in response. The government is focusing on providing aid to the victims as well as to several isolated villages of Northern Sumatra. 

For a swift rescue, three warships carrying aid and two hospital ships were deployed in worst-hit-areas where roads remain impassable due to landslides. 

This marks Indonesia’s deadliest disaster since a massive 2018 earthquake and subsequent tsunami killed more than 2,000 people in Sulawesi.

Meanwhile in Sri Lanka, flooding and landslides triggered by Cyclone Ditwah has killed at least 340 people with many still missing. The Sri Lankan government has called for international aid and it is using military helicopters to rescue the stranded people.

Although Colombo peaked with flood water over-night, and with easing rain, restoration is gradually starting. But the damage is extensive in the central region with roads blocked by fallen trees and landslides. 

Responding to the disaster, the Sri Lankan government has also declared a state of emergency calling it the largest and most challenging natural disaster in their history after the 2004 Asian tsunami that killed 31,000 people and millions homeless. 
While Nepal has extended condolences to Sri Lanka, it has additionally decided to extend an assistance of USD 200,000 in Sri Lanka’s relief and recovery operations.

With much of Asia in the annual monsoon season, the flooding that hit Indonesia caused by a rare tropical storm has also swept Thailand and Malaysia. 

With the death toll of 176 people, caused by flooding, Thailand has declared it as one of the deadliest flood incidents in a decade. While the government of Thailand has provided relief measures, two local officials have been suspended from growing public criticism over their alleged failures in flood response.

The heavy rain has also inundated Perlis state, killing two people in Malaysia. 

In contrast to these natural disasters, a fire disaster occurred at a ‘high-rise’ neighborhood in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district. The fire engulfed seven of the eight 31-storey towers, reports South China Morning Post (SCMP). The death toll has now reached 151, including a firefighter, in what is considered one of the deadliest fire incidents in Hong Kong in seven decades.

The building was undergoing renovation work when it caught fire. From the investigations, authorities have found the use of highly flammable materials, like polystyrene foam, in the work, reports SCMP. According to their other report, “substandard protective nets with defective fire retardant properties have been found at the residential estate,” which further adds, “some of the nets outside the scaffolding were replaced with cheaper, non-fire-resistant material.”