Survivors plead for urgent aid after catastrophic floods and landslides killed over 1,500 in Asia

ACEH TAMIANG, Indonesia — Emergency crews raced against time on Friday after last week’s catastrophic floods and landslides that struck parts of Asia, killing more than 1,500 people. Relief operations were underway, but the scale of need overwhelmed the capabilities of rescuers. Authorities said 883 people were confirmed dead in Indonesia, 486 in Sri Lanka and 185 in Thailand, as well as three in Malaysia. Many villages in Indonesia and Sri Lanka remained buried under mud and debris, with nearly 900 people still unaccounted for in both countries, while recovery was further along in Thailand and Malaysia. As the waters recede, survivors find the disaster has crippled their villages’ lifelines. Roads that once connected the cities and districts to the outside world are severed, leaving some areas accessible only by helicopter. Transmission towers collapsed under the weight of landslides, plunging communities into darkness and causing internet outages. In Aceh Tamiang, the hardest-hit area in Aceh province, infrastructure is in ruins. Entire villages in the lush hills district lie sub

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