Indonesia death toll rises to 248 after catastrophic flooding in Sumatra

Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand have been inundated with cyclone-driven rain for a week, killing about 400 people.

Rescue workers in Indonesia are continuing to battle to reach victims in several devastated areas submerged by cyclone-driven torrential rain over the past week, as authorities said the death toll has now reached 248 and would likely continue to rise.

Indonesia’s National Disaster Management Agency (known as the BNPB) said on Saturday that the number of confirmed casualties following this week’s catastrophic flooding and landslides now stands at 248, with more than 100 people still missing, after rescuers in West Sumatra’s Agam district recovered more bodies.

More than 500 people have also been injured, the BNPB said.

“The death toll is believed to be increasing, since many bodies are still missing, while many have not been reached,” said Suharyanto, head of the BNPB, who, like many Indonesians, only uses one name.

Updating an initial death toll of 23 for the whole province of Sumatra, West Sumatra Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Ilham Wahab said late on Friday that 61 people had died and 90 were missing.