JAKARTA: The death toll from floods and landslides on Indonesia’s Sumatra island has climbed to 303, with 279 still missing, as cyclone-fuelled rains pounded the region for a seventh day, the head of the national disaster agency said Saturday.
Nearly 80,000 people have been evacuated, and hundreds remain stranded across three provinces while a rare tropical storm spins in the Malacca Strait, after a week of torrential rain across Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand.
Responders are airlifting aid into the island’s hard-hit north, where landslides have severed roads and knocked out communications. Crews are racing to reopen the route from North Tapanuli to Sibolga in North Sumatra, cut off for a third day, with people trapped along the roadway in urgent need of supplies. Security will be reinforced on Sunday to support relief operations, officials said, after reports of attempts to ransack aid in Central Tapanuli.
Across the Malacca Strait, Thailand reported its flood death toll rising to 162, up from 145, as the region continues to grapple with the storm’s impact.
-Gibran Kurniawati
