Heavy monsoon rain overwhelmed swaths of the three countries this week and left thousands stranded, many on rooftops awaiting rescue.
Rescuers in Indonesia were struggling to reach the worst-affected areas of Sumatra island, where more than 270 people were still missing.
Flooding and landslides in Indonesia have killed more than 300 people, according to the latest figures from the disaster authority on Saturday.
Of those, 166 were in North Sumatra province, 90 were in West Sumatra, and 47 were in Aceh.
Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated, although access to many parts of those three provinces remains cut off, National Disaster agency head Suharyanto said.
He told a news conference that a cloud seeding operation had begun in West Sumatra to reduce the rainfall, most of which had already subsided by Saturday.
Novia, a resident of Pidie in Aceh, said the water in his house had receded "but the entire place is covered in mud".
"Some of the items in the house are damaged or have fallen, and we haven't been able to clean them yet.
"We, the community, are working together to clean up the mud," the 30-year-old told AFP.
Firda Yusra said he left his home with his wife and child to take shelter in a nearby mosque with around a thousand others.
"Here, we eat whatever is available," he said.
- Thailand clean-up -
Water levels reached three metres (nearly 10 feet) in Songkhla province in southern Thailand and killed 162 people in one of the worst floods in a decade.
Workers at one hospital in hard-hit Hat Yai moved bodies into refrigerated trucks after the morgue exceeded capacity.
Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul apologised for the destruction caused by the floods.
"Whenever there are losses, deaths, or injuries, it's always the prime minister's fault," he said on Saturday.
"I will use all my expertise and dedication to improve the situation," he said, announcing a two-week timeframe for the district's cleanup.
The Thai government rolled out relief measures for those affected by the flooding, including compensation of up to two million baht ($62,000) for households that lost family members.
More than 40,000 people have taken shelter in evacuation centres, according to Wanchana Sawasdee, spokesman of the flood relief operations centre, although "some people have already returned home".
Malaysia's foreign affairs ministry said more than 6,000 Malaysians who were stranded by severe flooding in Hat Yai had been rescued.
Two people were killed in Malaysia after floods left stretches of northern Perlis state underwater.
- Public criticism -
Shop owner Rachane Remsringam picked through rubbish strewn between the aisles of his general goods store as floodwaters in southern Thailand receded, lamenting hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses.
There has been growing public criticism of Thailand's flood response, and two local officials have been suspended over their alleged failures.
An MP from the opposition People's Party criticised the administration, saying it "wrongly estimated the situation" and made "errors in handling the flood crisis".
The annual monsoon season, typically between June and September, often brings heavy rain, triggering landslides and flash floods.
A tropical storm has exacerbated conditions, and the tolls in Indonesia and Thailand rank among the highest in floods in those countries in recent years.
Climate change has affected storm patterns, including the duration and intensity of the season, leading to heavier rainfall, flash flooding and stronger wind gusts.
"Since I was a child until now at 30 years old, this is the worst flood that has ever occurred in our village," said Novia in Aceh.
"There were floods before... but it wasn't like this."
Sri Lanka declares emergency as toll from floods, mudslides hits 153
Colombo (AFP) Nov 29, 2025 -
Sri Lanka declared a state of emergency on Saturday and appealed for international assistance as the death toll from floods and mudslides triggered by Cyclone Ditwah rose to 153, with another 191 people missing.
The extreme weather system has destroyed more than 20,000 homes, sending 108,000 people to state-run temporary shelters, the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) reported.
A further 798,000 people required assistance after being temporarily displaced by the floods, DMC spokesman Pradeep Kodippili said.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake invoked emergency powers, granting him sweeping authority to manage the aftermath of the devastation caused by a week of torrential rain across the island.
Kodippili confirmed that 153 people had been killed.
Among them were 11 residents of an elder care home that was flooded in the north-central district of Kurunegala on Saturday afternoon, police said.
Troops from the army, navy, and air force have been deployed alongside civilian workers and volunteers to assist with the relief effort.
The military rescued 69 bus passengers on Saturday, including a German tourist, who had been stranded in the Anuradhapura district after a 24-hour operation.
One of the passengers, speaking from the hospital, described how navy sailors helped them climb onto the roof of a nearby house after using ropes to guide them safely through the floodwaters.
"We were very lucky... while we were on the roof, part of it collapsed... three women fell into the water, but they were helped back onto the roof," said W. M. Shantha.
A helicopter had to abort an initial rescue attempt because the downdraft from its rotors threatened to blow away the roof they were perched on. They were later rescued by naval boats.
Roads in the central district of Badulla remained inaccessible, leaving many villages cut off and relief supplies unable to get through.
"We lost two people in our village... others are sheltering in a temple and a house that is still standing," said Saman Kumara from the Badulla village of Maspanna, one of the worst-hit districts.
"We can't leave the village, and no one can come in because all roads are blocked by landslides. There is no food, and we are running out of clean water," he told News Center website by telephone.
- No clean water -
Officials said about a third of the country was without electricity or running water because power lines had collapsed and water purification facilities were inundated. Internet connections were also disrupted.
Cyclone Ditwah moved away from the island on Saturday and was heading towards neighbouring India.
India's Chennai Airport cancelled 54 flights due to the cyclone's approach, with the weather department forecasting extremely heavy rainfall and strong winds over the next 48 hours.
The Sri Lankan government has issued an appeal for international aid and urged Sri Lankans abroad to make cash donations to support affected communities.
India was the first to respond, sending two plane loads of relief supplies and two transport helicopters, along with a rescue crew of 22.
An Indian warship, which was already in Colombo on a previously planned goodwill visit, donated its rations to assist the victims.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences over the loss of lives in Sri Lanka and said New Delhi was prepared to send more aid.
Flooding in low-lying areas worsened on Saturday, prompting authorities to issue evacuation orders for residents living along the banks of the Kelani River, which flows into the Indian Ocean from Colombo.
While rain had eased in most parts of the country, including the capital, the island's north was still experiencing showers.
The cyclone has become Sri Lanka's deadliest natural disaster since 2017, when flooding and landslides claimed more than 200 lives and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.
The worst flooding since the turn of the century occurred in June 2003, when 254 people were killed.
Seven killed in Tahiti after landslide buries two homes
Papeete (AFP) Nov 27, 2025 -
A landslide on the French Pacific island of Tahiti that buried two homes killed at least seven people and left others missing, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday.
The disaster struck at dawn on Wednesday -- late evening in mainland France -- in the eastern village of Afaahiti after a week of heavy rain.
"I extend the nation's full support to the families affected by the tragedy in Afaahiti, where seven lives have been lost and people remain missing," Macron wrote on X.
France's high commissioner for French Polynesia said a "30-metre-high" landslide swept one house away, sending it crashing into a second.
"Given the configuration of the terrain and its instability, nothing is stable and it will take a very long time" to complete the search for victims, said Alexandre Rochatte, adding it could take "48 hours or even longer".
A resident of Afaahiti told AFP she was woken early Wednesday by what sounded like a train outside her home.
"We went outside and saw that a house was completely covered by earth and mud," said Ida Labbeyi.
Rescue operations had to be suspended for several hours after a second landslide nearly swept away members of the rescue team.
They have resumed and are expected to continue throughout the night.
"We are moving very slowly with excavators, dogs, radar and an endoscopic camera, because at any moment we could put weight on potential victims," said Colonel Olivier Lhote, who is in charge of the rescue operations.
Tahiti, nearly 16,000 kilometres (9,950 miles) from Paris is one of several French overseas territories that span the Caribbean and the Pacific.
French Polynesia comprises more than 100 islands, including Tahiti.
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