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Extreme weather
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Residents sit on a Mozambique military truck transporting them across floodwater that blocked a road in the Boane district on Friday. Photo: AFP
Natural disasters

Over 100 dead in torrential rains and floods across southern Africa

Thousands have been forced to evacuate in Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe, with helicopters plucking people to safety.

Natural disasters

Avalanches in French Alps kill 6 skiers over the weekend

Britain

1 dead in UK, 100,000 French homes without power as storms batter Europe

Australia

‘Leave, go’: Australia declares state of disaster amid bushfires

Emergency crews can now force evacuations as conditions rivalled the infamous ‘Black Summer’ blazes of 2019-2020.

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Smoke shrouds a home in Longwood, Australia’s Victoria state, on Friday as firefighters attempt to douse the flames. Photo: AAP/Reuters
Hong Kong weather

El Nino could cost Hong Kong US$300 billion and shorten life expectancy: study

El Nino phenomenon is ‘persistent driver of health and economic loss’, not just a short-term weather anomaly, study finds.

The Philippines

1 killed, 38 missing after sudden garbage avalanche at Philippines landfill

Landfills and dumpsites in the Philippines have long posed safety risks, especially where poor residents scavenge for food and recyclables.

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France

Europe paralysed by snow as brutal cold snap disrupts flights, rail services

Thousands stranded as chaos grounds flights, with black ice sparking fatal accidents, while death toll rises to six in season’s worst freeze.

Snow falls on the streets of central Paris on Wednesday. Photo: EPA-EFE
Japan

Japan snowstorm traps 3,000 vehicles in 23km traffic jam

New Year return rush traps drivers on the Sanyo Expressway in Hiroshima, causing distress and triggering a wave of emergency calls.

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?

From typhoons to earthquakes, ‘Master of Disaster’ turns a roll of the dice into a life-saving lesson for the world’s most vulnerable.

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A player draws a card while playing a disaster preparedness board game in Manila. Photo: AFP
Nordic nations

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

One person was killed after being hit by a falling tree near Sweden’s Kungsberget ski resort, police said.

People walk in heavy snow as departures are cancelled at the train station in Are, Sweden on Saturday. Photo: TT News Agency via AP
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.

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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The Angkola Protestant Church is seen amid flood devastation at Aek Ngadol village in North Sumatra province on Christmas Day. Photo: AFP
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.

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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.

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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A fallen tree spray painted with “Help” lies among debris in Aceh Tamiang, northern Sumatra, on Tuesday in the aftermath of last month’s flash floods. Photo: AFP
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.

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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A Tapanuli orangutan, and its young, hanging on a tree in Batang Toru, Tapanuli, North Sumatra, Indonesia in 2015. Photo: Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme/EPA-EFE
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.

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