Devastating monsoon rains and tropical cyclones have unleashed catastrophic flooding across parts of South and Southeast Asia, killing hundreds of people, displacing communities and causing major economic disruption, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on December 2.

Clare Nullis, a WMO spokesperson, told a UN press briefing in Geneva that Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and Sri Lanka are among the worst hit, as monsoon-related downpours combine with tropical typhoons. "Asia is very, very vulnerable to floods," Nullis added.