Catastrophic flooding and landslides have already killed more than 1,600 people and impacted nearly 11 million more across South and Southeast Asia. With more than 1,200 people reported missing, the death toll is expected to rise. Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Malaysia are among the hardest-hit countries, facing record-breaking rainfall, storm surges, and widespread inundation.
Experts attribute these disasters to an unusual convergence of powerful weather systems, including Cyclones Ditwah, Senyar, and Koto, as well as a strengthened northeast monsoon. Warm ocean temperatures and shifting storm tracks, fueled by climate change, have produced extreme rainfall in areas that historically faced lower cyclone risk.
According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), more than 4.1 million children have had their education interrupted due to climate-related disasters since late November.
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka experienced some of the most severe impacts, including its worst floods in recent history, when Cyclone Ditwah made landfall on November 28, triggering floods and landslides. At least 481 people have died, and 341 are missing.
Although authorities have restored several primary road networks, significant infrastructure disruptions persist, including widespread power outages due to flooding and landslides. The government has allocated 30 billion rupees for immediate relief efforts, and the UN and its partners continue to support the response.
UN agencies and non-governmental organizations have delivered emergency aid, including food, health and hygiene supplies, kitchen sets, and water tanks. These efforts are being carried out in close coordination with the authorities, while early recovery efforts, including damage assessments, are underway.
Indonesia
Indonesia has recorded 836 fatalities and 518 missing persons after persistent heavy rains triggered severe floods and landslides in Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra since late November. Priority relief efforts include search and rescue operations, providing for the basic needs of displaced people, restoring access to isolated areas, and accelerating the distribution of relief supplies by land and air.
Despite major logistical and access challenges, the government-led response to the devastating floods in the northwest continues. The United Nations is working closely with the Indonesian government on logistics, health, water and sanitation, and coordinating with local aid agencies.
Thailand
At least 185 people have lost their lives in Thailand, and 367 are unaccounted for. Since mid-November, monsoon activity over the Gulf of Thailand, the south, and the Andaman Sea intensified, bringing widespread torrential rain to southern Thailand. Twelve southern provinces have been affected by monsoon activity, with Songkhla being one of the hardest hit. The government is leading relief efforts in affected communities.
Vietnam
Vietnam has recorded at least 98 fatalities, with Typhoons Bualoi and Matmo contributing to extensive flooding and landslides across six northern and mountainous provinces. Central Vietnam has experienced persistent flooding and landslides since mid-November, a situation that was exacerbated by Tropical Cyclone Koto.
This week, the UN allocated $2.6 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to bolster assistance in the hardest-hit provinces. The new funds will support interventions in the areas of shelter, water, sanitation, hygiene, and food security, including cash assistance, and will complement government-led efforts.
Malaysia
In Malaysia, the National Disaster Management Agency (NaDMA) is reporting flooding in eight northern states: Kelantan, Perlis, Perak, Selangor, Kedah, Penang, Terengganu, and Pahang. Malaysian authorities are leading the humanitarian response and are closely monitoring developments, issuing regular updates and advisories.
According to the ASEAN Disaster Information Network (ADINet), there have been fatalities in Malaysia due to these extreme weather events.
Millions of children have been severely impacted
On Friday, Ricardo Pires, UNICEF spokesperson, told journalists in Geneva that children in Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, and Malaysia have endured months of destructive typhoons, floods, and storms that have repeatedly disrupted their daily lives.
“Over the past months and in recent weeks, children across five countries in Southeast Asia – Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, and Malaysia – have faced the devastating effects of typhoons, floods and storms,” Pires said.
“They are waking up in evacuation shelters. They're drinking unsafe water. They're watching their parents struggle to rebuild homes and livelihoods that have been destroyed not once, but repeatedly. And they're missing school not for days, but for weeks.”
According to UNICEF, 3 million students in Vietnam, the country that has seen the largest impact, have had their education disrupted by recent typhoons, floods, and storms. In the Philippines, flooding and winds affected 919,000 children last month, leaving them unable to attend school.
In Indonesia, over 180,000 students are currently out of class, and more than 2,000 educational facilities have been affected by recent flooding. Authorities are still working to determine the full extent of the damage.
In Thailand, nearly 90,500 students are out of class due to flooding. In Malaysia, more than 5,000 students have been affected by the monsoon season.
“For many of these students, this isn't even their first interruption this year. It's their second, third, or fourth time they've watched floodwaters consume their classroom,” the UNICEF spokesperson said, stressing that the challenges extend beyond schooling, as the risk of disease is heightened and there is a lack of safe water and nutrition supply shortages across the region.
The UN agency emphasized that children in the region are at the forefront of the global climate crisis.
“East Asia and the Pacific is one of the most disaster-prone regions in the world. Children are sitting at the front line of the climate crisis, experiencing firsthand what it means when extreme weather becomes more frequent, more intense, and less predictable,” Pires said.
UNICEF continues to provide emergency support, through clean water, health and nutrition services, and cash assistance, and to support local governments in their national response
“But humanitarian response, while essential, is not enough. We cannot continue responding to crisis after crisis without taking steps to prevent future emergencies. We need to invest in climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction,” the UNICEF spokesperson added.
“We need to build resilient water systems, strengthen schools and health facilities against extreme weather to keep children healthy and learning, and create early warning systems that protect children before disasters strike.”