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A commuter wades through floodwaters from Cyclone Ditwah in Chennai on December 2. Flooding in India and Pakistan has killed over 1,860 people and caused up to US$6 billion in damages in 2025, according to a new report. Photo: AFP
Climate change

Asia’s year of costly climate disasters spurs calls for ‘decisive action’

With Asia accounting for four of the world’s six costliest weather disasters in 2025, experts urge investment in climate resilience.

The Philippines

‘Master of Disaster’: Can a board game help Philippines face next catastrophe?

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Nordic nations

2 dead as Storm Johannes batters Nordic nations, thousands left without power

Indonesia

Spanish father, 3 children missing in Indonesia after tourist boat sinks

High waves are believed to have caused the sightseeing boat to capsize en route to popular tourist destination Labuan Bajo.

Indonesian rescuers prepare to look for missing foreign tourists in the Padar Island Strait on Saturday. Photo: Basarnas/AFP
American Airlines

US airlines cancel more than 1,000 flights due to winter storm Devin

An additional 4,685 flights faced delays in the northeast as the National Weather Service warned of heavy snow and ‘hazardous conditions’.

Indonesia

‘Starting anew’: Indonesians in flood-struck Sumatra hold Christmas mass

Many in the congregation are still sheltering at evacuation sites after the fatal disaster wreaked havoc on the island four weeks ago.

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United States

Southern California drenched by powerful Christmas storm, flash flooding

Governor declares state of emergency amid deaths, rescues, evacuations, floods and potential mudslides.

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People sit on the roof of a building, stranded during floods in San Bernardino County in California on Christmas Eve, in this screengrab from a social media video. Photo: Timothy and the Machine Music/Facebook/via Reuters
Indonesia

‘Worse than the tsunami’ – Indonesia’s Aceh residents traumatised by flooding

A month after the disaster, residents are still struggling to recover as anger against Jakarta’s slow rescue response mounts.

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Weather

Asia’s year in extreme weather and natural disasters, from earthquakes to floods

From the deadly earthquake in Myanmar to tropical cyclones in the Philippines, Asia went through its share of natural disasters in 2025.

Asean

Southeast Asian floods set to threaten more wildlife due to climate change

Environmental crimes and poor oversight are also worsening the risks faced by animals and trees.

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An elephant clearing logs and debris on December 8 in a village affected by flooding in Pidie Jaya, Aceh province, Indonesia. Photo: AP
Climate change

Letters | Asia is not built for extreme weather. This must change

Readers discuss the urban planning features essential to climate resilience, the demise of Hong Kong’s Democratic Party, and the Legislative Council election.

Workers try to restore the damaged railway track after landslides in Badulla, Sri Lanka, on December 13. Many parts of the island were inundated in the wake of Cyclone Ditwah. Photo: EPA
Indonesia

Indonesian elephants tasked to help in flood recovery spur conservation debate

The four elephants deployed to lift debris in Aceh last week after flooding were also involved in the 2004 post-tsunami recovery efforts.

Indonesia

Don’t build on ‘active zones’, experts warn Indonesia as Sumatra recovery begins

Jakarta has pledged US$3.6 billion and a special agency to help restore homes and public facilities destroyed in last month’s cyclone.

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Malaysia

‘Just say thank you’: Malaysians fume as Indonesian minister belittles flood aid

Tito Karnavian dismissed the US$60,000 aid package as ‘not much’ compared to Jakarta’s own disaster response, touching a raw nerve online.

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Indonesian Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian as he appeared on the Suara Lokal Mengglobal podcast. Photo: YouTube/HelmyYahyaBicara
Morocco

37 die in Morocco in torrential rain and flash floods

Rain and floods inundated about 70 homes and businesses and swept away 10 vehicles in the coastal city of Safi.

Moroccans looks at a destroyed car following fatal flash floods in the coastal town of Safi. Photo: AFP
Indonesia

Over 200 still missing in Indonesia as flood death toll passes 1,000

With vast areas hit and thousands of people injured, 1.2 million have been forced to take refuge in temporary shelters.

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Indonesia

‘Could go extinct here’: orangutans at risk as Indonesia floods devastate habitat

Orangutans have disappeared since landslides struck Sipirok in North Sumatra province.

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Indonesia

Is Indonesian disaster response failing Sumatra’s flood victims?

Prabowo’s government is ‘busy bragging about its quick reaction’ while deaths mount and people suffer from lack of aid, critics say.

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People carry their belongings as they walk on logs swept away by a flash flood in Aceh Tamiang on Monday. Photo: EPA
Australia

Australian bushfires destroy homes in 2 states as firefighter killed

More than 50 bushfires are burning across New South Wales as a massive blaze is contained in Tasmania.

Sri Lanka

627 dead in Sri Lanka landslides as rains batter South, Southeast Asia

At least 1,812 people have been killed in the natural disasters rolling across Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.

Environment

Letters | Asia is waking up to storms that are stronger – and more polluted

Readers discuss new research that shows how typhoons spread microplastic pollution, encouraging the use of an anti-scam app, and the migrant domestic workers who fell victim to the Tai Po fire.

A man crosses a muddy street where cars piled up after being swept away in floods brought on by Typhoon Kalmaegi, in Bacayan, Cebu City, the Philippines, on November 5. Photo: Reuters
The Philippines

6 cyclones, 5 weeks: Philippines can’t escape its endless cycle of disaster

Corruption, complacency and climate chaos conspire to turn the Philippines’ natural hazards into man-made tragedies.

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Satellite imagery shows Super Typhoon Fung-wong as it approaches the Philippines on November 9. Photo: NOAA/EPA
Indonesia

Video | ‘Please help us’ appeal from Indonesia flood survivor

Death toll has risen to more than 830 with hundreds still missing in Sumatra.

Video | Toxic smog caused illness in 200,000 New Delhi residents

Residents in New Delhi are demanding government action over poor air quality.

Climate change

Editorial | Asia’s floods a deadly reminder of need to combat growing climate threat

Devastating flooding and landslides have focused attention on disaster preparedness efforts as rising temperatures threaten the region.

A woman carries a child as she wades through a flooded street after heavy rainfall in Wellampitiya, Sri Lanka, on November 30. Photo: AFP
Environment

Asia’s floods kill over 1,000, lay bare human cost of climate inaction

From Indonesia’s deadliest disaster since 2018 to a state of emergency in Sri Lanka, Asia reels from a week of climate-fuelled destruction.

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People walk past the ruins of houses in a village affected by heavy flooding in Batang Toru, Indonesia’s North Sumatra province, on Wednesday. Photo: AP
Indonesia

Indonesia’s cyclone tragedy exposes lethal cost of forest destruction

Green groups say plantations and mines have degraded Sumatra’s land, amplifying a disaster that killed more than 700 and displaced thousands.

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Thailand

One man kept his home dry amid Thailand’s floods. Here’s how he did it

Wicharit Leelakorn fortified his house with a makeshift flood-protection system after the first heavy rain fell on November 21.

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