Flood Kills 143 In India

Three days of heavy downpours lead to flash floods and landslides that has left 70 dead in Nepal and 73 across northern and eastern India. According to news reports at least 143 people have died and thousands have fled their homes as monsoon floods swept across Nepal and India, officials said Monday, warning the toll could rise as the extent of the damage becomes clear.

 

Around 200,000 are already living in emergency camps in Assam in northeast India, which suffers frequent flooding during the annual monsoon rains.

Another 15,000 have had to leave their homes in the eastern state of Bihar, which borders Nepal and where one official said seven rivers in Bihar were at danger levels.

Huge swathes of the state were submerged in 2008 when a river burst its banks across the border in Nepal, with the two countries trading blame for the disaster.

A massive landslide in the mountainous northern state of Himachal Pradesh swept two passenger buses off a hillside and into a deep gorge, killing at least 46 people on Sunday.

In Nepal, over 48,000 homes have been totally submerged by the floods and 21,000 people displaced, according to police.

As emergency workers struggled to reach far-flung areas, the country’s home ministry said another 47 people were missing, presumed dead.