Catastrophic flooding across Southeast Asia has left more than 300 people dead in Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia, Channel News Asia (CNA) reported on Saturday, citing a statement from regional authorities.
Heavy monsoon rains and tropical storms have flooded areas in three countries, leaving residents stranded on rooftops and cutting off entire communities.
Indonesian authorities are struggling to reach the worst-hit areas of Sumatra, while hospital authorities in southern Thailand have brought in refrigerated trucks to store bodies as morgues have exceeded their capacity.
In Indonesia’s West Sumatra province, Misniati, 53, described her terrifying battle with rising floodwaters to reach her husband at home.
She said that when she returned from early morning prayers at a mosque, “I noticed that the road was flooded.”
“I tried to run back home to tell my husband, but the water was already up to my waist,” she told AFP, adding that the water was up to her chest when she arrived home.
“I didn’t sleep at all last night and was just monitoring the water,” said Misniati, who only uses one name.
At least 174 people have been killed in this week’s floods and landslides, and nearly 80 more are missing, Sumatra officials said.