By Willy Kurniawan

PALEMBAYAN, Indonesia, Dec 1 (Reuters) – Rescue teams in western Indonesia were battling on Monday to clear roads cut off by cyclone-induced landslides and floods, as improved weather revealed more of the scale of a disaster that has killed close to 700 people in Southeast Asia.

Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand have seen large-scale devastation after a rare tropical storm formed in the Malacca Strait fuelling torrential rains and wind gusts for a week that hampered efforts to reach people stranded by mudslides and high floodwaters.

At least 176 have been killed in Thailand and three in Malaysia, while the death toll climbed to 502 in Indonesia on Monday with 508 missing, according to official figures.

Under sunshine and clear blue skies in the town of Palembayan in I

See Full Page