Padang, Dec 5: Last week’s catastrophic floods and landslides in parts of Asia have killed over 1,500 people, with hundreds still missing, as rescue teams struggle to reach isolated survivors.Indonesia reported 837 deaths, Sri Lanka 479, Thailand 185, and Malaysia three. Environmentalists warn decades of deforestation from mining, palm oil plantations, and illegal logging worsened the disaster by destabilising soil and river basins.
In Sumatra, neatly cut timber carried by floods indicated illegal logging. President Prabowo Subianto pledged forest protection reforms, while Indonesia’s Environment Minister announced investigations into eight companies suspected of exacerbating the crisis.
Lawmakers called for revocation of offending companies’ permits to prevent future disasters.