Losses Top $20 Billion in Asia Floods as Climate Risks Grow

Devastating floods have killed more than 1,300 people and caused at least $20 billion in losses since late last month across parts of South and Southeast Asia, underscoring the increasing risks from climate change and extreme weather for the region’s fast-growing populations and economies.

A sequence of three tropical cyclones coincided with the regular northeast monsoon to deliver rainfall totals unseen in decades in some locations, and triggered a wave of destruction from Sri Lanka to Indonesia — damaged homes, roads and rail lines, decimated crops, slowed factory output and inundated tourist spots.