Al-Azhar Offers Condolences to Indonesia over Floods Victims

On Thursday, two Indonesian navy ships packed with humanitarian aid arrived in a cyclone-ravaged area of the archipelago, as the disaster's death toll rose to approximately 180 people, including dozens killed in neighbouring East Timor, according to Indonesia news agency.

The catastrophic storm on Sunday swept buildings in some Indonesian villages down a mountainside and to the shore of the ocean on Lembata near East Timor territory.

Meanwhile, torrential rains from Tropical Cyclone Seroja turned small communities into wastelands of mud and uprooted trees, sending thousands of Indonesians fleeing to shelters amid widespread power blackouts.

Responding to this crises, Egypt's Al-Azhar extended their "sincere and honest condolences to the Indonesian President Joko Widodo and people of Indonesia for those killed in the cyclone, floods and heavy rainfalls that claimed the lives of many casualties, led to the collapse and destruction of several houses of brotherly Indonesians.” in a press release on Tuesday.

“Our prayers are with Indonesian families of the victims of that storm disaster, and we wish a speedy recovery to the survivors,” Al-Azhar said.

Lately, the Indonesian disaster agency has estimated that 125 million Indonesians -- nearly half of the country's population -- live in areas at risk of landslides.