Families on rooftops, homes buried by mud: Asia floods show water is overtaking wind as main threat

Much improved response systems are struggling to cope with ever more powerful and destructive storms

• Death toll from Indonesia floods passes 700 as 1 million evacuated

Families stranded on their rooftops. Homes buried by fast-flowing mud. Jagged brown craters scarring lush green hillsides.

The scenes are the result of a series of cyclones and storms in a heavy monsoon season that have struck Asia with torrential rains, gutting essential infrastructure and reshaping landscapes. The violent weather has killed at least 1,200 people in the past week and forced a million to flee without knowing whether their homes will still be standing when they go back.