Death toll from Southeast Asia floods tops 300 as recovery operations step up

Partially submerged vehicles drive through flood waters at an area flooded by heavy rains in Medan, North Sumatra province in Indonesia on Friday.

The death toll from floods across large swathes of Southeast Asia rose to at least 321 on Friday, with authorities working to rescue stranded citizens, restore power and communications and co-ordinate recovery efforts as the waters began to recede.

Large parts of Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand have been stricken by cyclone-fuelled torrential rain for a week, with a rare tropical storm forming in the Malacca Strait.

Another 46 people were killed by a cyclone in the South Asian island nation of Sri Lanka, authorities said.

On Indonesia’s badly hit Sumatra island, 174 people were confirmed dead on Friday, Suharyanto, the head of Indonesia’s d