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Death Toll From South and Southeast Asia Floods Rises to 1,608 After New Tallies

Under mounting scrutiny over deforestation, Indonesia has launched company probes, promising policy changes.

Overview

  • Authorities now report 846 dead in Indonesia, 486 in Sri Lanka and 276 in Thailand, with hundreds still missing across the three countries.
  • More than 1.1 million people are displaced and losses exceed $12 billion, with the UN citing 367 missing in Thailand and officials reporting 547 in Indonesia and 341 in Sri Lanka.
  • Rescue and relief continue as washed-out roads, collapsed bridges and lingering floods in southern Thailand slow deliveries, and new rain forecasts threaten operations.
  • Environmental groups say decades of deforestation worsened the disaster, and Indonesia’s environment minister is investigating eight companies as the president pledges tighter forest protections and permit reviews.
  • Officials and agencies link the severity to a rare concurrence of three late-November cyclones, and health authorities warn of heightened risks of dengue, diarrheal disease and leptospirosis in contaminated areas.