AI and Technology Have a Big Role to Play in the Asian Floods 

Storms have been battering Asia, leaving thousands dead, millions evacuated, and billions in damage. AI and technology have a big role to play, experts told Observer.    

Since November, countries in South and Southeast Asia have been hit by intense monsoon rains, tropical cyclones, and storm systems. These triggered catastrophic floods, landslides, and widespread displacement. Countries affected this year by climate events include Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Laos, and others. With more than 1.4 million evacuated, at least 1,600 dead, and a storm season nowhere near ending, experts say technology can play a vital role in the region. 

Weak La Niña conditions, sea-surface temperature anomalies, and a negative Indian Ocean Dipole shifting west have led to systems forming closer to land than usual, Jason Nicholls, Lead International Forecaster at AccuWeather, told Observer. “So far in 2025, there have been 37 tropical impacts to land in eastern Asia versus 30 in 2024,” said Nicholls. Outside of the West Pacific, slow-moving and short-lived Cyclonic Storm Senyar in late November resulted in several days of heavy rain and flooding in northern Sumatra, Indonesia. At the same time, Cyclonic Storm Ditwah brought several days of heavy rain and historic flooding to Sri Lanka recently. “These cyclones and other rounds of heavy rain in Southeast Asia in late summer into autumn can be attributed to the negative Indian Ocean Dipole,” Nicholls added. 

The storm season in Asia this year has been “devastating with its widespread impacts—lives lost, communities displaced, and infrastructures destroyed,” June McAlarey, CEO of Catalyst, a global provider of Earth observation solutions, told me. “Technology plays a critical role in both disaster preparedness and response,” said McAlarey. “Governments and tech companies both have critical roles to play.” The executive said that by integrating real-time data from weather satellites, ground sensors, and mobile devices, AI systems can continuously update the predictions, giving authorities more accurate information to optimize resource allocation and evacuation plans, ensuring that the most vulnerable populations are evacuated first and provided with necessary aid.

Sean Donegan, CEO and founder of Satelytics, a cloud-based geospatial analytics provider that’s in contact with entities in Asia, told Observer that they are attempting to apply cutting-edge technology to help identify recovery priorities first. Next, they’ll “monitor the recovery process, and then create disaster response plans for the coming years that will help them survive what is expected to be a continued trend toward extremely challenging weather-related impacts,” said Donegan.

The tech gaps in Asia and how AI can help build climate resiliency 

“The 2025 flood events highlight the urgent need for affected countries to modernize their disaster risk frameworks by leveraging existing technologies,” Reza Marsooli, an Assistant Professor in the Civil, Environmental, and Ocean Engineering Department at Stevens Institute of Technology, told Observer. “AI-enhanced weather and flood tools can downscale storm predictions to the neighborhood scale and continuously update forecasts using real-time data from satellites, radar, and sensor networks.” Marsooli said that modern communication and response technologies are able to improve how warnings and relief efforts reach communities. Post-disaster response also becomes more efficient through AI-enabled logistics planning, automated damage assessment, and the integration of crowdsourced flood reports that can guide rescue teams.

From agriculture to energy: Floods in Asia impact local economies and global supply chains

A recent study found that the storms and floods across South and Southeast Asia have caused significant human and economic loss, with billions required for recovery and relief, Reuters reported.  While it is too early to assess the full economic damage in the region, countries like Indonesia report $3.11 billion needed for reconstruction and recovery, while Vietnam reported over 400 dead and  $3.47 billion in economic losses. Besides devastating human losses, local economies and global supply chains that rely on South and Southeast Asian production will be impacted. 

For example, floods in Thailand slashed rubber output by up to 90,000 tons, driving global supply concerns. Other industries affected in the region include palm oil, agriculture, forestry, and energy. “Many conservative industries such as agriculture, forestry, utilities, and specific portions of oil and gas struggle to keep pace with technological developments,” Donegan observed. “AI-driven geospatial analytics can help utilities restore electric grids quickly, help oil and gas minimize environmental hazards induced by severe weather, and help palm oil producers identify storm-impacted areas, prioritize soil stabilization efforts, and prioritize replanting efforts in an optimized manner,” he said. 

The impact on production is immediate and will have longer-lasting effects; it hits the livelihoods of growers and local processors, and the global supply chains that rely on them, Simon Constance, Head of Partnerships, Treefera, an AI-enabled visibility provider for global supply chains, told Observer. “New technologies like high-frequency satellites, remote sensing, and environmental data gathering– which are processed via AI models—are able to measure what is happening in soft commodity production landscapes with a granularity that was impossible even a few years ago,” said Constance.