Very heavy monsoon rains, made worse by a rare tropical cyclone, have caused terrible floods and landslides in parts of Southeast Asia. The disaster has hit Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia very hard. Hundreds of people have died, and tens of thousands have had to leave their homes. Rescue teams are working hard to find survivors and give people important help. Experts say this is one of the worst weather disasters the region has seen in many years.
Indonesia has been the most affected country, especially the island of Sumatra. Heavy rain caused dangerous landslides and made rivers overflow very quickly. The disaster agency in Indonesia says more than 350 people have died. They also worry that hundreds more people are missing. The government has sent thousands of police and soldiers to help with the big rescue effort.
A woman from Aceh, Indonesia, described how quickly the water came. "The current was very fast," she said. "In a matter of seconds it reached the streets and entered the houses." When the water went down, she found her home was completely destroyed.
In Thailand, at least 162 people have died. Floods in the south of the country were very deep, with water levels reaching three meters in some places. The Thai government believes the floods have affected the lives of nearly four million people.
The cyclone, named Senyar, made the seasonal rains much stronger. Because of the flooding, about 80,000 people in Indonesia alone had to escape their homes. Now, people are starting to think about the difficult job of rebuilding. This disaster shows that Southeast Asia needs better plans to prepare for extreme weather in the future.