All of Sri Lanka and large parts of Indonesia, southern Thailand and northern Malaysia have been hit by heavy and prolonged rains. Many residents have been forced to cling to rooftops while awaiting rescue and entire villages have been isolated.
In Indonesia, nearly 600 people have died and well over 400 are missing, the country's disaster agency said on Monday. President Prabowo Subianto, who is under pressure to declare a national emergency due to the situation, expressed hope that the worst is now over.
Warship
The government in Jakarta has sent three warships with emergency aid and two hospital ships to some of the worst-hit areas on the island of Sumatra, where roads have become impassable.
Nearly 600,000 people on the island in northern Indonesia have been evacuated.
Sri Lanka has requested help from other countries and deployed military helicopters to reach people stranded. At least 340 people have died there and many more are missing.
In Colombo, floodwaters are reported to have peaked and there are hopes that they will start to recede. The water came as a surprise to many in and around the city.
Every year we experience minor floods, but this is something different, says resident Dinusha Sanjaya.
It's not just the amount of water, but how quickly it all happened.
Monsoon season
At least 176 people have died in southern Thailand, authorities said on Monday. Two deaths were reported from Malaysia.
Large parts of Asia are now in their annual monsoon season, which often brings heavy rain that triggers landslides and flooding.
The floods that have hit Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia have been worsened this year by a rare tropical storm, which hit the Indonesian island of Sumatra particularly hard.
