JAKARTA, May 20 — Southeast Asia experienced 44 serious disaster events last week, including floods, landslides, and strong winds in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand, according to the Asean Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre).
In Indonesia, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency reported widespread impact across numerous regions, including East Java, East Kalimantan, North Sumatra, South and West Sulawesi, East Nusa Tenggara, Banten, North and Central Kalimantan, Central and West Java, Jakarta, and West Papua.
In its weekly update report, it said Thailand’s Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation confirmed flooding in the Ban Rai district and the Uthai Thani province.
Meanwhile, the Philippines’ National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported flooding and landslides in Northern Mindanao, the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), and Region XII.
The NDRRMC reported one fatality, and about 79,600 people were affected in Lanao del Norte, Misamis Oriental, Maguindanao del Sur, and Cotabato.
The AHA Centre attributed the heavy rains that triggered floods and landslides across parts of Mindanao on May 15 to the intertropical convergence zone.
In Myanmar, the death toll from the 7.7-magnitude earthquake near Mandalay on March 28 has risen to 3,727, with 81 people still missing and over 5,100 injured, the country's Department of Disaster Management said on Sunday (May 18).
“The quake affected nearly 508,000 people, with more than 28,500 currently housed in 106 evacuation centres and over 266,000 staying with relatives,” the AHA Centre noted.
Damage assessments indicate that 11,600 houses were destroyed and 39,600 partially damaged, while thousands of schools, hospitals, government offices, bridges, and roads also sustained damage.
The total estimated cost stands at US$1.7 billion (RM7.28 billion). The authorities continue to verify this figure, the centre added.
Five significant earthquakes measuring above magnitude 5.0 were also recorded, and volcanic activity was reported at several sites in Indonesia and the Philippines.
— Bernama
