Death toll from floods in several Asian countries exceeds 1,500

(AFP) The death toll from floods ravaging several Asian countries surpassed 1,500 on Wednesday, as authorities in Sri Lanka and the Indonesian island of Sumatra are scrambling to reach flood victims desperate for help.

A torrential monsoon season, compounded by two unusual tropical cyclones, has since last week brought intense rain to those places, as well as southern Thailand and northern Malaysia.

In Indonesia, despair is growing among those affected by the tragedy because of the slow pace of rescue efforts and aid distribution.

Humanitarian agencies said the scale of the challenge is almost unprecedented, even for a country that has suffered numerous natural disasters.

Across the island of Sumatra, the death toll was revised down Wednesday night to 770, with at least 463 missing. Hours earlier, the disaster management agency had announced 804 dead.

Information on the ground is difficult to gather as many regions remain isolated by flood damage, power and communications outages, or both.

"It is very difficult to respond logistically," said Ade Soekadis, executive director of humanitarian organization Mercy Corps Indonesia.

"The extent of the damage and the size of the affected area are really huge."

The organization expects to send toiletries and water, saying reports of shortages of such goods and food were already "very worrying."