The death toll following the floods and landslides that hit Indonesia rose to 631, with one million people displaced, according to a report released this Tuesday, December 2, by the Indonesian National Disaster Management Agency.
Additionally, 472 people remain missing and 2,600 injured in three provinces on the island of Sumatra, which has a population of more than 20 million, the agency added.
According to the agency, more than 3.3 million people were affected by the floods and one million were evacuated from their homes to temporary shelters.
More than 1,200 people died in the floods and landslides that hit Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand last week, and hundreds of people remain missing.
In Indonesia, the immediate priority is to get aid and food to areas that are completely isolated and sometimes only accessible by air or sea.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto promised on Monday to rebuild infrastructure destroyed during a visit to affected areas, with damaged roads and interrupted communication lines.
“We need to tackle climate change effectively,” Prabowo told journalists, noting that local governments “must take a significant role in protecting the environment and preparing for weather conditions.”
The disaster management agency’s report also indicates that almost 9,000 homes were damaged, including around 3,500 completely destroyed, as well as at least 322 schools and 277 bridges.
Damages in the devastated areas were estimated at four billion dollars (3.45 billion euros) until Monday, when flood waters, linked to torrential monsoon rains and an atypical tropical cyclone that hit Indonesia, began to recede in some areas.
Sri Lankan authorities said rescue teams were searching for 352 missing people, with 390 confirmed fatalities.
Around 218,000 people are in temporary shelters after being hit by torrential rains that caused landslides, mainly in the central mountainous region, where tea is grown.
In Thailand, where at least 176 people died, the first compensation payments were scheduled for Monday, starting with 239 million baht (6.43 million euros) for 26,000 people, government spokesman Siripong Angkasakulkiat said.