Sri Lanka and Indonesia Deploy Militaries as Asia Flood Toll Nears 1,000

Devastating floods and landslides across Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia have killed nearly 1,000 people and displaced hundreds of thousands. Sri Lanka and Indonesia have deployed military personnel and ships to assist victims, while authorities continue rescue and relief operations. The extreme rainfall was worsened by a rare tropical storm and the effects of climate change, with many areas remaining flooded or inaccessible.

Sri Lanka and Indonesia have deployed military personnel to assist victims of devastating flooding that has killed nearly 1,000 people across four Asian countries in recent days. Separate weather systems brought torrential and prolonged rainfall to Sri Lanka and large parts of Indonesia’s Sumatra, southern Thailand, and northern Malaysia last week.

Arriving in North Sumatra on Monday, Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto said that “the worst has passed, hopefully.” He has faced increasing pressure to declare a national emergency in response to floods and landslides that have claimed at least 442 lives, with hundreds more missing. Unlike his Sri Lankan counterpart, Prabowo has not publicly requested international assistance. The death toll marks the deadliest natural disaster in Indonesia since the 2018 earthquake and tsunami in Sulawesi, which killed more than 2,000 people.

The Indonesian government has dispatched three warships carrying aid and two hospital ships to some of the worst-affected areas, where many roads remain blocked and impassable.

In Sri Lanka, the government has called for international aid and is using military helicopters to reach people stranded by flooding and landslides triggered by Cyclone Ditwah. At least 340 people have died, with many more still missing. Floodwaters in the capital, Colombo, peaked overnight, but with rain having stopped, there are hopes that waters will begin receding. Some shops and offices have begun to reopen.

Officials noted that the full extent of damage in the central region, the worst affected, is only now becoming clear as relief workers work to clear roads blocked by fallen trees and mudslides. In Ma Oya, just north of Colombo, resident Hasitha Wijewardena described the aftermath: “The water has gone down, but the house is now full of mud,” appealing for military help to clean up.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who declared a state of emergency to address the disaster, pledged to rebuild: “We are facing the largest and most challenging natural disaster in our history. Certainly, we will build a better nation than what existed before.” The losses and damage are the worst Sri Lanka has faced since the 2004 Asian tsunami, which killed about 31,000 people and left more than a million homeless.

By Sunday afternoon, rain had subsided across Sri Lanka, but low-lying areas in Colombo remained flooded, and authorities prepared for a major relief operation. Military helicopters have been deployed to airlift stranded residents and deliver food, though one helicopter crashed just north of Colombo on Sunday evening. Selvi, 46, a resident of the Colombo suburb of Wennawatte, described leaving her flooded home with four bags of belongings: “My house is completely flooded. I don’t know where to go, but I hope there is some safe shelter where I can take my family.”

Much of Asia is in its annual monsoon season, which often brings heavy rain and triggers landslides and flash floods. However, the recent flooding in Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia was also worsened by a rare tropical storm that dumped heavy rain, particularly on Sumatra. Climate change has intensified such events, as a warmer atmosphere holds more moisture, producing heavier rainfall and increasing the frequency and severity of storms.