Rescue workers in Indonesia are struggling to reach victims in several devastated areas that were hit by an earthquake and floods, and authorities fear the confirmed death toll of 248 will rise furthe

Rescuers are searching in rivers and the rubble of devastated villages for bodies and possible survivors after floods and landslides on Indonesia’s Sumatra island.

Days of devastating flooding across Southeast Asia have killed more than 300 people in Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia, authorities said on Friday.

It is exceptionally rare for cyclones to happen in Indonesia, as they almost never form near the equator, says Erma Yulihastin, a researcher at the country's National Research and Innovation Agency’s Climate and Atmospheric Research Center (BRIN).

The death toll from severe flooding in southern Thailand climbed to more than 80 people as floodwaters began to subside Thursday, officials said. About 1 million households and more than 3 million people have been impacted by floods triggered by torrential rains in 12 southern provinces,