Rescue teams race to reach flooding victims in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand

Rescue teams are racing to reach communities isolated by last week’s catastrophic floods and landslides in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand as more than 800 people remain missing and economic damage becomes more clear.

Some 1,400 people were killed: at least 770 in Indonesia, 465 in Sri Lanka and 185 in Thailand, with three in Malaysia. Many villages remained buried under mud and debris, with power and telecommunications out.

Indonesia and Thailand, both middle-income economies, have been able to mobilise extensive rescue operations, deploy military assets and channel emergency funds.

Sri Lanka is responding under far more strained conditions. Still recovering from a severe economic crisis, it faces limited resources, foreign exchange shortages and weakened public services.

Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya met diplomats last week to urge them to support the government’s relief and reconstruction efforts. Countries such as India, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates have already launched relief efforts.

In Indonesia, the worst-hit country, washed-out roads and collapsed bridges have left rescuers struggling to reach some of the hardest-hit areas in North Sumatra, West Sumatra and Aceh provinces, said the National Disaster Management Agency.

There was concern that deforestation may have contributed to the disaster. Residents and emergency workers in Padang, the capital of West Sumatra, said large piles of neatly cut timber were found among the debris.

“From their shape, it was clear these were not just trees torn out naturally by the flood, but timber that had been deliberately cut,” said a member of a clean-up crew.

Local authorities have not confirmed the source of the timber. Environmental groups said the scale of damage suggested weakened hillsides and degraded forests played a major role.

The government was investigating alleged illegal logging operations.

In Thailand, government spokesperson Rachada Dhnadirek announced on Wednesday that recovery efforts in the south were progressing well and water and electricity had been restored in nearly all affected areas.

She said the government has disbursed over one billion baht (£23.5 million) in compensation to more than 120,000 households affected by the floods.