Jakarta [Indonesia], November 30 : The death toll from the devastating floods and landslides sweeping across Indonesia has climbed to 442, Al Jazeera reported, citing the country's disaster agency, as desperate people hunt for food and water.
National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) on Sunday said another 402 people remain missing across the provinces of North Sumatra, West Sumatra, and Aceh, with rescue teams struggling to reach the hardest-hit areas.
Much of the destruction is concentrated on Sumatra Island, where thousands of residents have been cut off for days. Two cities Central Tapanuli and Sibolga remain completely unreachable, according to Al Jazeera.
Authorities say they have deployed two warships from Jakarta loaded with emergency supplies, with the vessels expected to arrive in Sibolga on Monday.
The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) warned that poor weather and a lack of heavy equipment were continuing to slow down search and rescue operations. Aid has been painfully slow to reach isolated communities, and conditions in Sibolga and Central Tapanuli are deteriorating.
Social media videos reveal the growing desperation: crowds pushing through broken barricades and wading through waist-deep floodwaters to reach damaged shops for basic supplies.
Across Southeast Asia, the scale of destruction has been staggering. Heavy monsoon rains have overwhelmed large parts of Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia, killing at least 600 people regionwide. The relentless downpours have triggered landslides, washed out roads, and knocked out communication lines, leaving rescue teams scrambling to reconnect entire towns, as per Al Jazeera.
Indonesia's annual monsoon season, which typically runs from June to September, brings intense rainfall every year but this season has been far more severe.
A tropical storm system has worsened the flooding, and authorities say the death tolls in Indonesia and Thailand are among the highest seen in recent years.
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