Closing summary
Sri Lanka and Indonesia have deployed military personnel as they race to help victims of devastating flooding that has killed over 1,100 people across four countries in Asia.
In Indonesia, at least 604 people have been killed and 464 remain missing, according to the national disaster agency. The provinces of Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra have been hardest hit, with thousands of people reportedly isolated without vital supplies. Hundreds of thousands of people have been evacuated from homes across three provinces on the western Indonesian island of Sumatra alone.
Public anger is mounting over what many say was an ill-prepared governmental response to the deadly floods and the sluggish delivery of much-needed food aid has been blamed on bureaucratic hurdles.
The government is coming under pressure to declare a national emergency in response to the flooding. The Indonesian president, Prabowo Subianto, said “the worst has passed, hopefully” earlier today.
In Sri Lanka, the government called for international aid and used military helicopters to reach people stranded by flooding and landslides triggered by Cyclone Ditwah. At least 355 people have been killed, according to officials, with another 366 estimated to still be missing.
Over 170 people are reported to have been killed in Thailand, with the southern province of Songkhla being the hardest-hit. The flooding has caused severe disruptions, leaving thousands of people stranded, rendering streets impassable and submerging low-rise buildings and vehicles.
Three deaths have been confirmed by officials in Malaysia.
Thanks for following along today. We are closing the blog now. You can read about the latest flooding developments in this wrap-up story by the Guardian’s south-east Asia correspondent, Rebecca Ratcliffe.
Updated
Tens of thousands of children out of school in Indonesia and Thailand, charity says
Tens of thousands of children are out of school in Indonesia and Thailand after the catastrophic flooding caused huge disruption to education, Save the Children has said.
The charity says in a press release that at least 1,000 schools have been damaged and closed in Aceh, among the hardest hit provinces in Indonesia, and Sumatra.
Teaching has been postponed as some schools are being used as emergency shelters, housing people in urgent need of food and shelter.
Speaking from Nias island, one of the impacted areas in Sumatra, Fadli Usman, humanitarian director, Save the Children Indonesia said:
Blocked roads, power cuts and the disruption of essential services are putting children’s health and psychological wellbeing at risk. This is an uncertain time for children – they have lost homes, schools and loved ones.
It’s vital that children’s needs and rights are prioritised, including providing safe places for them and their families to stay, nutritious food, access to clean water and protection.
About 76,000 children are out of school due to the flooding in southern Thailand, according to an assessment conducted by Save the Children in 7 out of the 12 affected provinces. As is the case in parts of Indonesia, schools have been forced to close in areas in southern Thailand, with some being used as emergency shelters housing people whose houses have been submerged by the floods.
Save the Children warn that thousands of children’s education has been interrupted as power cuts and damaged infrastructure prevent them from being able to learn online.
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