Camille Naredo

Commuters drive through a flooded street amid heavy rains in Colombo on December 5, 2025. Ishara S. Kodikara, AFP

Commuters drive through a flooded street amid heavy rains in Colombo on December 5, 2025. Heavy rains lashed Sri Lanka on December 5, hampering a major clean-up operation after severe flooding and landslides last week killed nearly 500 people, officials said. (Photo by Ishara S. KODIKARA / AFP)

Article (news)

Sri Lanka

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1765117631524AFP__20251205__877R7EZ__v1__MidRes__SriLankaWeatherClimateFlood.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Commuters drive through a flooded street amid heavy rains in Colombo on December 5, 2025. Ishara S. Kodikara, AFP" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Commuters drive through a flooded street amid heavy rains in Colombo on December 5, 2025. <em>Ishara S. Kodikara, AFP</em></span></span></span></div><p>COLOMBO, Sri Lanka -- Sri Lankan authorities issued fresh landslide warnings on Sunday with rains lashing areas already devastated by a powerful cyclone, as the death toll rose to 627.</p><p>A chain of tropical storms and monsoon rains has battered Southeast and South Asia, setting off landslides, flooding vast tracts and cutting off communities from Sumatra island&#x27;s rainforests to the highland plantations of Sri Lanka.</p><p>At least 1,826 people have been killed in the natural disasters rolling across Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam over the past two weeks.</p><p>Indonesia&#x27;s president on Sunday vowed to step up aid, with demonstrators rallying after the country&#x27;s death toll surpassed 900.</p><div><a class="fr-strong fr-green" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/12/6/starvation-fears-as-more-heavy-rain-threaten-flood-ruined-indonesia-1345">READ: Starvation fears as more heavy rain threaten flood-ruined Indonesia</a></div><p>More than two million people in Sri Lanka -- nearly 10 percent of the population -- have been affected by last week&#x27;s floods and landslides triggered by Cyclone Ditwah, the worst on the island this century.</p><p>The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said monsoon storms were adding more rain and making hillsides unstable, including in the central mountainous region and the northwestern midlands.</p><p>Helicopters and planes were being used on Sunday to supply communities cut off by landslides in the center of the country.</p><p>The Sri Lanka Air Force said it had received a planeload of relief supplies from Myanmar on Sunday, the latest batch of foreign aid.</p><p>The government has confirmed 627 dead -- 471 from the lush tea-growing central region -- while 190 people remain unaccounted for.</p><p>The number of people in state-run camps had dropped to 90,000 from a peak of 225,000 as floodwaters receded across the island by Sunday, the DMC said.</p><p>More than 80,000 homes were damaged, including close to 5,000 that were completely destroyed, it added.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/12/1/militaries-come-to-aid-of-asia-flood-victims-as-toll-nears-1-000-1533">READ: Militaries come to aid of Asia flood victims as toll nears 1,000</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>- &#x27;National priority&#x27; -</strong></div><script data-wid="auto" type="text/javascript" src="https://content.viralize.tv/display/?zid=AAFz8gWM8iRADsJr&amp;cid=ABtIIuilRLVYOG79"></script><p>In Indonesia, President Prabowo Subianto on Sunday flew back to Sumatra&#x27;s hard-hit Aceh province, with a ministry saying his visit was &quot;to ensure the acceleration of emergency response and recovery in affected areas&quot;.</p><p>The Indonesian government has so far shrugged off calls to declare a national disaster, which would free up resources and help government agencies coordinate their response. The toll in Indonesia on Sunday climbed to 921 dead, with 392 still missing.</p><p>Prabowo will also &quot;monitor the distribution of aid, the evacuation process of residents, and measures to reopen road access&quot;, the Ministry of the State Secretariat said.</p><p>Speaking shortly after arriving in the provincial capital Banda Aceh, Prabowo promised that &quot;we will put all our efforts into this, and later we will repair all the bridges, hopefully within one or two weeks&quot;.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/12/4/-no-food-indonesians-scrounge-for-supplies-after-flood-disaster-1157">READ: Indonesians scrounge for supplies after flood disaster</a></div><p>Long queues formed for drinking water and fuel in Banda Aceh, and prices of basic commodities like eggs were skyrocketing, an AFP correspondent said.</p><p>Syahrul, a 35-year-old protester in northern Aceh, accused Prabowo and other officials of engaging in &quot;disaster tourism&quot;.</p><p>&quot;We don&#x27;t need officials to just observe. We need their presence to address the issues faced by the community,&quot; Syahrul, who only gave one name, told AFP.</p><p>In Sri Lanka, the government unveiled a major compensation package on Friday to rebuild homes and revive businesses wiped out by the natural disaster, which hit the island as it was emerging from its 2022 economic meltdown.</p><p>A senior official earlier said recovery and reconstruction might cost up to $7 billion.</p><p>The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Friday it was considering Sri Lanka&#x27;s request for an additional $200 million to help with rebuilding.</p><p>The money is on top of the $347 million tranche due later this month, part of a four-year, $2.9 billion IMF bailout loan agreed in 2023.</p><p>President Anura Kumara Dissanayake told parliament on Friday that Sri Lanka&#x27;s economy had made a significant recovery, but was not strong enough to withstand the latest shock alone.</p>

<p>Sri Lankan authorities issued fresh landslide warnings on Sunday with rains lashing areas already devastated by a powerful cyclone, as the death toll rose to 627.</p>

Sri Lankan authorities issued fresh landslide warnings on Sunday with rains lashing areas already devastated by a powerful cyclone, as the death toll rose to 627.

Sri Lanka issues landslide warnings as cyclone toll hits 627

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Sri Lanka issues landslide warnings as cyclone toll hits 627

Amal JAYASINGHE and Alfath ASMUNDA in Banda Aceh,

Agence France-Presse

Published Dec 07, 2025 10:46 PM PHT

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Sri Lanka

Indonesia

floods

cyclone

weather

climate

Southeast Asia

Prabowo Subianto

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