Survivors pick up pieces in flood-hit Indonesia as more rain predicted

Floods across Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Malaysia have killed more than 1,500 people, with Indonesia bearing the brunt of the human loss.

Women walk in an area affected by a deadly flash flood following heavy rains in Aceh Tamiang regency, Aceh province, Indonesia, on Dec 4, 2025.

(Photo: Reuters/Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana)

TUKKA, Indonesia: Survivors in Indonesia were piecing back shattered lives Friday (Dec 5) after devastating floods killed more than 1,500 people across four countries, with fears of fresh misery as more rain looms.

Indonesia has borne the brunt, with its toll rising to 837 dead and 545 missing, authorities said, many in Sumatra's northern Aceh province where more than 800,000 people have been displaced.

Sri Lanka has reported 486 deaths, Thailand 276 and Malaysia two.

Many survivors in Sumatra were counting the cost of the deluge that started last week, leading to destructive flash-flooding and landslides.

"Our house was covered by soil up to the ceiling," said Rumita Laurasibuea.

"Around the house, there were piles of wood."

The 42-year-old government employee, now sheltering in a school, told AFP that recovering from the flood's impact "could take more than a year".