Over the past few weeks, Asia has experienced extremely intense and destructive storms. Places like Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Malaysia face heavy rainfall, which has been causing fatal landslides and floods. This harsh weather, something many of these countries have not faced in decades, has left them in a place they were not at all prepared for. In just one week, these storms have caused the deaths of over 1,100 people and have left hundreds still missing. 

In Indonesia, at least 604 people have died, and 460 people have been reported missing. Thankfully, both the military and the police are searching for and helping victims of these dangerous weather conditions. The island hit hardest is Sumatra, and it has been extremely difficult for rescue teams to help the civilians living there. Many residents have been stranded by the high floodwaters since the immense rain caused rivers to overflow. These storms have caused citizens to completely lose all their belongings, including their food, money, and water. Nothing was saved, and therefore, people have opted to steal food and water just to survive.

Unfortunately, Indonesia was not the only place with mass destruction. Thailand has also been detrimentally affected by the weather. Over 176 people have died, and almost 2.8 million people have been affected. For Thailand, the hardest-hitting city was Hat Yai City. They have not recorded this type of weather since the 18th century, 300 years ago! Floodwaters reached a high of eight feet and forced the city to declare an emergency.

In Sri Lanka, over 1 million people had been affected by Cyclone Ditwah, which killed at least 390 citizens and left 352 missing. Not only that, but the weather has caused major damage to infrastructure in Sri Lanka, with over 25,000 homes destroyed and 147,000 people displaced. However, with the help of the charity, Voice for the Voiceless Foundation, 4,000 meals have been provided to families who have lost their homes.

Lastly, Malaysia has had two people confirmed dead after the storm. Thankfully, 34,000 people were evacuated before the storm, but some were not able to due to the rising floodwaters blocking off any escape routes. For example, Gon Qasim and her husband, an elderly couple in their 70s, were both stranded in a field after their plan to evacuate failed. They were eventually rescued, but the way Gon describes the flooding shows just how terrifying these floods were: “The water was like the ocean. That’s what it looked like.”

While scientists cannot officially say that this was due to climate change, they do know that global heating has caused storms to be much more intense. Warmer oceans normally allow for heavier storms, and therefore, climate change has definitely had a part in creating these extremely destructive storms, floods, and landslides. These natural disaster events happening in the past week have not stopped there. In the Philippines and in Vietnam, dozens of people were killed due to deadly typhoons, and millions were forced to escape. Therefore, there needs to be more awareness about the effects of climate change, since it is finally catching up to us. These past few natural disasters are irreversible, but everyone can take part in trying to prevent future ones by just understanding what climate change has done to us and will continue if we do not take action quickly.