WORLD.- At least 375 people died this week in Thailand, Indonesia and Sri Lanka due to floods that have so far left dozens of people missing and close to four million affectedin the midst of an intense rain storm that is setting records in some cities in Southeast Asia.
The total number of deaths counted tripled this Friday, when authorities were able to advance in the damage count thanks to the fact that the rains subsided, especially in Thailandwhere there are 145 deaths and more than a million homes affected in several southern provinces.
The numbers also skyrocketed in Indonesia, which is searching for 79 missing people in three provinces of the Sumatra islandwhere 174 deaths have been recorded, while bad weather resulted in 56 fatalities in Sri Lanka and another 21 with unknown whereabouts.
Cities under water
Many towns in Thailand remain flooded, although the water has begun to recede in some areas. Only in the province of Songkhla -declared a state of emergency- 110 people have lost their lives in the last five days.
The search and rescue mission is mainly focused on Hat Yai, a city in this region and the economic center of southern Thailand, where emergency teams continue to recover bodies and distribute aid aboard boats and helicopters.
stacked cars after being swept away by the current, people waiting for help on the roofs or walking with water up to their necks, debris and a blanket of mud on the streets, are some of the images that the disaster has left in Hat Yai.
The authorities warn that the number of victims could increase as more areas of the city are inspected.
According to official data, about 3.5 million people have been affected in the south, including the province of Satun, which is home to the tourist island of Ko Lipe.
Evictions underway
The Indonesian disaster management agency (BNPB) confirmed this Friday that they evicted about 13 thousand families in Sumatra (northern end of the same island) and in the province of Sumatra Occidentalthe three areas in which deaths have been recorded due to flooding.
In these three provinces, 79 people are also missing, while authorities estimate that nearly 200,000 inhabitants have been affected in different ways by the bad weather.
Access to several areas remains restricted due to the collapse of several bridges, which ended up being washed away by water currents, and to landslides that block some roads that connect the region.
In addition, aid distribution operations face problems in communications and the power outage, as indicated by BNPB in one of its balance sheets.
Cyclonic storm
Adding to the disaster in Southeast Asia is the damage caused by the torrential rains of Cyclone Ditwah in Sri Lanka, where 56 people lost their lives and 21 are still missing.
The country also faces floods and landslides in 20 districts, hit by heavy rains for two weeks, which have affected some 40,000 people, according to official estimates.
Authorities asked people living in low-lying areas near riverbeds to leave their homes and move to safer places. Schools and government offices closed on Friday, when train traffic was also suspended in the affected areas.
India sent relief materials to Sri Lanka today, as announced by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who expressed his condolences to the Sri Lankan people.
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