Over 1,500 people have died in recent days across Southeast Asia due to catastrophic floods and landslides. Indonesia has reported 883 fatalities, Sri Lanka 486, Thailand 185, and Malaysia 3.
On Sunday, Pope Leo XIV prayed for the victims and their grieving families during the Angelus prayer, calling on the international community to provide humanitarian aid.
“I am close to the peoples of South and Southeast Asia, who have been severely tested by the recent natural disasters,” the Pope said. “I pray for the victims, for the families who mourn their loved ones, and for all those who are providing assistance. I urge the international community and all people of good will to support our brothers and sisters in these regions with concrete gestures of solidarity.”
Local Church Rallies to Aid Victims
Emergency crews continue to assist those affected, but many villages in Sri Lanka and Indonesia remain buried under mud and debris, with around 900 people still missing.
In northern Sumatra, Indonesia, Capuchin friars have opened their monasteries to families displaced by the flooding. Speaking to Journalists, Fr. Yoseph Norbert Sinaga, Provincial Superior of the Capuchin Friars Province in Sibolga, said the worst of the disaster has passed, but the humanitarian crisis is far from over.
“Numerous people were killed in the Diocese of Sibolga after Tropical Cyclone Senyar brought torrential rains,” Fr. Sinaga said. “Now we are suffering from the lack of water and electricity, but above all, the lack of drinking water is a serious problem. Even we, in the monasteries, don’t have water and must collect it from springs in the forest.”
“Now our brothers and sisters need immediate help,” he added. “Later, we will also try to help rebuild their homes.”
