South-East Asian floods leave more than 1 million people homeless across Indonesia and Sri Lanka

When rain began pelting villages on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, residents thought it could simply be another wet season storm.

But then it got heavier and it did not stop for days.

When floodwater began rising through their homes, the residents realised how much trouble they were in.

Siti Nurbaya Siregar and her family had to scramble to the roof once the water rose to their necks.

"I was rescued by my neighbour on a tiny boat," the Langkat region resident said.

"It was loaded with my children, my mum, other relatives. Altogether, seven of us were on it.

"At one point the boat almost flipped over on the way to the rescue point."

Half of the homes in her small village were destroyed.

Death toll passes 1,300 and 1.2 million displaced

Large parts of South-East Asia are still reeling from devastating flooding and landslides caused by a series of cyclones and storm systems that lashed the region last week.

More than 1,300 people have been killed across Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand, and rescuers are still searching for hundreds of missing residents.

In Indonesia, where an incredibly rare equatorial cyclone hit the island of Sumatra last week, authorities on Tuesday night revised down the death toll from 753 to 712, with 500 missing.

It did not give a reason for the discrepancy.

In Sri Lanka, the death toll on Tuesday night stood at 465, while Thai authorities reported 176 dead.

Millions of people across the region have been affected by the floods, which have caused widespread destruction and destroyed thousands of homes.

Indonesia's disaster management agency said about 1.2 million people had been displaced across the North Sumatra, West Sumatra and Aceh provinces.

In Sri Lanka, about 218,000 people were living in temporary shelters, authorities said.

Displaced residents fighting over food in shelters

At the height of the flooding in Langkat last week marines were called in to rescue residents.

When the waters receded this week, locals returned to their homes to assess the damage.

Where Siti Nurbaya Siregar's village once stood are now piles of corrugated iron and debris coated in thick layers of mud.

"I'm very sad because the place where I lived from childhood has gone," Siti Nurbaya Siregar said.

Down the road from the village, a makeshift shelter was housing dozens of people who had been rescued but were unable to return home.

They had been sleeping rough in a mosque by the side of the road for almost a week.

Many of the residents felt they were not getting the assistance or resources they needed. Inside the shelter, their anger was palpable.

"What makes us really angry is the fact that the regency head didn't care for us," Rosmita, a mother displaced by the floods, said.

"We don't have food, we don't have medical supplies and the children are sick.

"All the community leaders, they don't care … since the flood happened. Until now they never showed their face."

Nur Aisyah, another mother whose home was destroyed by the floods, said residents had to fight over measly amounts of food.

"It's hard living here. We do not sleep well," she said.

"We have to fight with each other to get instant noodles and eggs every day."

Indonesians urge president to 'please help us'

Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto has been under mounting pressure to declare a national state of emergency.

He has so far resisted calls to do so, but yesterday on a tour of flood-affected areas he pledged to rebuild infrastructure.

"We need to confront climate change effectively," Mr Prabowo told reporters.

"Local governments must take a significant role in safeguarding the environment and preparing for the extreme weather conditions that will arise from future climate change."

But on the ground in devastated places such as Langkat, those pledges are not enough.

A man in the village, Arisen Siregar, was sifting through the remains of his home when he shouted a message to the ABC.

"President Prabowo, please help us because our homes have been wiped out," he said.

"Please help rebuild our house … we don't have shelter anymore."