More than 1800 dead in floods affecting Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand

More than 1800 people have died as a result of the floods that have hit Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. Since the end of November, extreme weather conditions in South Asia, caused by a cyclone, have particularly affected these three countries, where millions are displaced and isolated villages have no access to food or healthcare.
In Indonesia, at least 940 people have died with 276 still missing, according to the latest data reported by Reuters on Sunday. There are still 800,000 displaced individuals. The death toll stands at 607 in Sri Lanka, with 214 missing and over two million people, about 10% of the population, affected by floods and landslides, as reported by Al Jazeera on Saturday.
On December 5, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka urged national banks to implement temporary debt relief measures and provide new loans to those affected by the natural disaster, Reuters stated. Authorities in the country also warned about the forecast for continued heavy rain in the region. The Sri Lanka Disaster Management Center added that over 71,000 homes were damaged or destroyed.
In Thailand, there were 276 deaths, also caused by floods or landslides. Malaysia and Vietnam reported two deaths each. On the island of Sumatra, Aceh province was severely affected. Governor Muzakir Manaf stated that hunger and lack of medical care are currently the biggest threats to the surviving and isolated population: ‘Many people require basic necessities. Many areas remain inaccessible in the remote areas of Aceh.’
In the Aceh Tamiang region of Aceh province, as residents lost their homes to floods and debris, illnesses worsened. Diarrhea, fever, and myalgia are some of the conditions affecting the residents, whose ‘environment and living spaces’ were destroyed by the bad weather. At the only hospital in Aceh Tamiang, a patient and healthcare professionals told Reuters on Sunday that health conditions were deteriorating, also mentioning muddy medical equipment and medicines washed away by the floods.