Sri Lanka issues landslide warnings as cyclone toll hits 618

COLOMBO – The Sri Lankan authorities issued fresh landslide warnings on Dec 7 with rains lashing areas already devastated by a powerful cyclone, as the death toll rose to 618.

Tropical storms and monsoon rains have battered South-east and South Asia, setting off landslides, flooding vast tracts and cutting off communities from Sumatra’s rainforests to the highland plantations of Sri Lanka.

At least 1,812 people have been killed in the natural disasters rolling across Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam over the past two weeks.

Indonesia’s president on Dec 7 vowed to step up aid, with demonstrators rallying after the country’s death toll surpassed 900.

More than two million people – nearly 10 per cent of Sri Lanka’s population – have been affected by the floods and landslides

triggered by Cyclone Ditwah

, the worst on the island this century.

The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said monsoon storms were adding more rain and making hillsides unstable, including the central mountainous region and north-western midlands.

Helicopters and planes were used on Dec 7 to supply communities cut off by landslides in the centre of the country.

The Sri Lanka Air Force said it received a planeload of supplies from Myanmar on Dec 7, the latest batch of foreign aid.

The government has confirmed 618 dead – 464 from the lush tea-growing central region – while 209 people remain unaccounted for.

The number of people in state-run refugee camps dropped to 100,000 from a peak of 225,000 as flood waters receded across the island by Dec 7, the DMC added.

More than 75,000 homes were damaged, including close to 5,000 that were completely destroyed, it said.

‘Disaster tourism’?

In Indonesia, President Prabowo Subianto on Dec 7 flew back to Sumatra’s hard-hit Aceh province, with a ministry saying his visit was “to ensure the acceleration of emergency response and recovery in affected areas”.

The government has so far shrugged off calls to declare a national disaster, which would free up resources and help agencies coordinate their response.

The toll in Indonesia on Dec 7 remained at 916 dead, with 274 still missing.

Mr Prabowo will “monitor the distribution of aid, the evacuation process of residents and measures to reopen road access”, the Ministry of the State Secretariat said.

“The government emphasises that the handling of the floods in Aceh is a national priority and all resources are being mobilised to expedite the recovery of community conditions,” it added.

Speaking shortly after arriving in the capital Banda Aceh, Mr Prabowo promised that “we will put all our efforts into this, and later we will repair all the bridges, hopefully within one or two weeks”.

Many survivors said their greatest need remains clean drinking water. Some victims accused the Indonesian leader and other officials of engaging in “disaster tourism” and failing to address the crisis.

“We see that, including Prabowo’s visit in Bireuen today, it seems like a disaster tourism trip,” said Mr Syahrul, a 35-year-old protester in northern Aceh province.

“We don’t need officials to just observe. We need their presence to address the issues faced by the community,” he told AFP.

Protesters carried placards reading: “The Aceh disaster is not a tourist spot; it’s not enough for Prabowo to just take a stroll.”

In Sri Lanka, the government on Dec 5 unveiled a package to rebuild homes and revive businesses wiped out by the natural disaster, which hit the island as it was emerging from its 2022 economic meltdown.

A senior official earlier said recovery and reconstruction might cost up to US$7 billion (S$9 billion).

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Dec 5 it was considering Sri Lanka’s request for an additional US$200 million to help with rebuilding.

The money is on top of a US$347 million tranche due later in December, part of a four-year, US$2.9 billion IMF bailout loan agreed in 2023.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake told Parliament on Dec 5 that Sri Lanka’s economy had made a significant recovery, but was not strong enough to withstand the latest shock alone. AFP