Monsoon Rains Kill More Than 100 in India, Bangladesh; Hundreds of Thousands Evacuated

Associated Press
Published: August 2,2016
Nearly 100 people have died in India after a week of monsoon rains has flooded several regions, with about a million people taking shelter in government-run relief camps.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh flew over the worst-hit areas Saturday and said the floods were "very serious."
Twenty-six deaths were reported in Assam, where incessant downpours have damaged roads and snapped telephone cables in several districts, a government statement said.
Some 3.8 million people have been affected by the floods in Assam, according to state authorities. More than 700,000 have taken shelter in 770 relief camps.

A flood affected woman wades through water near her partially submerged house in Morigaon district, east of Gauhati, northeastern Assam state, India.
((AP Photo/Anupam Nath))

Twenty-six deaths also have been reported in Bihar due to drowning and home collapses in 10 districts bordering Nepal. At least nine people were killed when a three-story building collapsed in a Mumbai suburb on Sunday, Thanhien News reported, and officials said 32 people were killed by lightning a day earlier in India's eastern state of Odisha.
In Bihar state, around 260,000 flood victims were taking shelter in more than 400 relief camps set up by the state government. At least 400 medical camps have been set up as well to aid people who have spent several nights outdoors after their homes were submerged by rainwaters.
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Lightning also killed 15 people in Bangladesh in the past two days, disaster management officials in Dhaka told Thanhnien News on Sunday, adding to a death toll of 17 in flooding on Saturday. About 300 people have died from lightning in Bangladesh so far this year.
The Brahmaputra River and its tributaries were overflowing their banks in 18 of Assam's districts, washing away roads and highways and toppling power pylons. Floodwaters entered homes in at least 14 districts, leading to house collapses.
Floods are an annual occurrence in Assam and many parts of India during the June-September monsoon season.
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