INDONESIA FLOODS
On badly hit Sumatra in Indonesia, 94 people had been confirmed dead by Friday afternoon, according to data from three provincial authorities.
In the Padang Pariaman region of Sumatra, where a total of 22 people died, residents had to cope with water levels at least 1m high, and had still not been reached by search and rescue personnel on Friday.
“We’re running out of supplies and food,” said Muhammad Rais, a 40-year-old resident who was forced to move to the second floor of his home on Thursday to escape the rapidly rising waters.
Communications remained down in some parts of the island, and authorities were working to restore power and clear roads that have been blocked by landslide debris, said Abdul Muhari, spokesman for Indonesia’s national disaster mitigation agency.
Indonesia will continue to airlift aid and rescue personnel into stricken areas on Friday, he added.
In neighbouring Malaysia, where two people have been confirmed dead, tropical storm Senyar made landfall at around midnight and has since weakened.
Meteorological authorities are still bracing themselves for heavy rain and winds, and warned that rough seas could pose risks for small boats.
A total of 30,000 evacuees remain in shelters, down from more than 34,000 on Thursday.
Malaysia’s foreign ministry said on Friday that it had already evacuated 1,459 Malaysian nationals stranded in more than 25 flood-hit hotels in neighbouring Thailand, adding that it would work to rescue the remaining 300 still caught up in flood zones.
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