Damaged roads, debris slow relief operations after floods

Emergency crews were racing against time on Friday after last week's catastrophic floods and landslides struck parts of Asia, killing more than 1,500 people.

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Relief operations are underway, but the scale of need is overwhelming the capabilities of rescuers.

Authorities said 867 people were confirmed dead in Indonesia, 607 in Sri Lanka and 185 in Thailand, as well as three in Malaysia.

Many villages in Indonesia and Sri Lanka remained buried under mud and debris, with nearly 900 people still unaccounted for in both countries, while recovery was further along in Thailand and Malaysia.

As the waters recede, survivors find that the disaster has crippled their villages' lifelines.

Roads that once connected the cities and districts to the outside world are severed, leaving some areas accessible only by helicopter. Transmission towers collapsed under the weight of landslides, plunging communities into darkness and causing internet outages.

Indonesia's military stepped up its relief efforts in three provinces on Sumatra island, with many residents still stranded without access to government aid.

The storm systems also killed about 200 people in southern Thailand and Malaysia.

In Aceh Tamiang, the hardest-hit area in Aceh province, infrastructure is in ruins.