Heavy rains have hammered island nations across the Indian Ocean over the past week. Hundreds of people have been killed. Thousands more have been displaced. Flooding and mudslides swept away villages, washed out roads, and slowed rescue efforts. At least 442 people died across Indonesia in the widespread flooding. Another 402 people have been reported missing. A further 290,700 remained displaced as of Sunday night. That's according to the East Asian country’s National Disaster Management Agency. Right after the heavy storms, people in the hardest-hit areas turned to looting for food and other supplies. North Sumatra police spokesperson Ferry Walintukan told The Associated Press the looting happened before aid arrived. “(Residents) didn’t know that aid would come and were worried they would starve,” he said. Meanwhile in Sri Lanka, officials announced Sunday that the death toll there had risen to 193. Efforts to find 228 missing are still ongoing. At least 148,000 remain in temporary shelters. In Thailand, 145 died and at least 3.8 million were affected by last week’s storm. The city of Hat Yai reported that 13.18 inches of rain fell in a single day. That's its highest total in the past 300 years. More rain could hit the region this week. But it is not expected to be as heavy as the tropical storms that battered the region over the past seven days. Experts are also tracking Typhoon Koto. It's a storm over the East Sea with heavy rains and 102mph winds. It is slowly moving toward Vietnam, with expected landfall Wednesday night. Vietnam has also endured flooding over the past month, with 98 people reported dead and hundreds displaced. Reflect: How do you imagine you would help yourself and others if your community faced a major natural disaster? Photo of an aerial view showing a damaged area hit by deadly flash floods in Indonesia from Reuters.
