Devastating floods in South, Southeast Asia expose climate risks, systemic gaps

BANGKOK/JAKARTA/COLOMBO, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- Parts of South and Southeast Asia have witnessed the most devastating flooding in years as a result of relentless downpours compounded by a tropical cyclone, with Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand reporting a combined death toll exceeding 1,400, with nearly 900 people still missing.

It is believed that human-induced vulnerabilities have amplified the flood impact despite the heavy rainfalls, with experts appealing to strengthen early warning systems, shelter facilities, and disaster management plans.

HEAVY TOLL

As of Wednesday, 770 people had died and 463 were missing from recent floods and landslides in North Sumatra, West Sumatra, and Aceh provinces in Indonesia.

In Sri Lanka, the death toll from adverse weather triggered by Cyclone Ditwah has risen to 479, with another 350 people missing, while more than 1.6 million people from 455,405 families have been affected nationwide.

Thailand has experienced a heavy rainstorm unseen in centuries in its Hat Yai district in Songkhla province, with satellite images showing the district was once mostly submerged under 2 to 3 meters of floodwater. As of Tuesday, the floods had caused 180 deaths in the country, of which 142 were in Hat Yai.

In Indonesia and Sri Lanka, washed-out roads and collapsed bridges have cut off remote villages, with bad weather worsening the situation. In Thailand, it is estimated that damage could reach around 40 billion baht (about 1.25 billion U.S. dollars).

Asia is currently warming nearly twice as fast as the global average, fuelling more extreme weather and wreaking a heavy toll on the region's economies, ecosystems and societies, according to the World Meteorological Organization.

RELIEF UNDERWAY

Addressing the country on Sunday night, Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake appealed for international solidarity. Indonesian authorities also reported fuel shortages and limited transportation access that continue to hamper evacuation efforts.

Aid is arriving from various sides to support the flood-hit countries that struggle to begin cleanup and reconstruction.

The Asian Development Bank has approved a 3-million-U.S.-dollar disaster relief grant for Sri Lanka to support emergency operations.

Chinese leaders have offered condolences over the disastrous flooding that hit the region. Upon Colombo's request, China has decided to provide emergency humanitarian assistance to Sri Lanka, including a cash grant and supplies such as life jackets, tents, blankets and bed sheets.

The Red Cross Society of China has provided emergency cash aid to the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society, while Chinese businesses and community groups in Sri Lanka have also lent their helping hands.

Meanwhile, Chinese community groups and enterprises in Thailand have mobilized funds and supplies for emergency response, with the Zhejiang Chamber of Commerce in Thailand delivering both relief goods and cash to affected areas.

SYSTEM ALARM SOUNDED

Jazaul Ikhsan, lecturer in civil engineering at Muhammadiyah University of Yogyakarta, said these floods, which occurred almost simultaneously, were the result of a combination of extreme weather and human intervention through maladaptive spatial planning.

High rainfall was indeed the initial trigger, but damage to watersheds, inadequate drainage systems, and land use change exacerbated the impact. Several technical indicators show that flood control infrastructure is insufficient for current climate conditions, Ikhsan said.

Hijrah Saputra, lecturer in disaster management at Indonesia's Airlangga University, noted that the early warning system has not reached remote villages, spatial planning is not yet disciplined, and environmental rehabilitation is still sporadic.

"If we want to reduce casualties in the future, then resilience must be built through spatial planning, watershed ecology, and regionally integrated early warning systems," he said.

There was a lack of proper public training or guidance to help people understand how to carry out emergency plans, said Thailand's environmental and health expert Sonthi Kotchawat.

Flood warnings were issued too late, a scientist from Thailand's Kasetsart University said in an article published in local media.

"Every November, provinces in the southern region of Thailand host a familiar clash ... What Thailand does not yet have is the bridge: from what scientists see in July to what district chiefs need by September," he wrote. ■