As floods recede and reveal the trail of destruction left
by torrential rains in Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia
, officials have reported a rising death toll that is
in the wake of a rare tropical storm formed in
the Malacca Strait, unleashing devastating downpours and powerful winds
which lasted for a week across Southeast Asia. By
Monday, officials had reported more than 500 dead in
Indonesia, over 170 in Thailand, and several in
Malaysia. In Indonesia's West Sumatra province, a wall
is all that's left of one family's home after cyclonic
rain struck the region. This was my home.
I have 9 of my family members here. We
have nothing left. Everything was gone. We only
have the clothes on our backs. We couldn't bring
anything else. When it happened, the water just
rose up to the house, and we were afraid
, so we fled. And then we came back
on Friday and the house was gone. Destroyed Rescue
and aid efforts are struggling to reach parts of the
province as landslide debris blocks roads and communication and power
lines remain down. In southern Thailand, residents in
Hat Yai have started to clean up after a week
of downpours which left piles of cars stuck on roads
and muddied homes and businesses. Some shop owners resorted
to selling heavily damaged goods at big discounts I need
to clear the stock, the condition they're in after
being flooded, shoes soaked and ruined like this,
people don't have clothes right, so I'm helping by
selling everything cheaply so they can have something to wear
. In Malaysia's northern pearly state, paddy fields look
like the sea as nonstop rains submerged stretches of land
. One farmer said the rains have completely ruined his
fields. Relief and rescue efforts continue across all three
countries, but with hundreds still missing and millions affected
, the region faces a long road to recovery.