اردو
  • Death toll from flooding, landslides rises to 218 in South Asia

    Bystanders look on as floodwaters rage near a house in Kurigram, northern Bangladesh on August 14. AFP Image Bystanders look on as floodwaters rage near a house in Kurigram, northern Bangladesh on August 14.

    The death toll in flooding and landslides that have devastated parts of northern India, southern Nepal and Bangladesh over the past few days has risen to 218, while millions of others have been displaced.

    In Nepal, officials scrambled Tuesday to send relief supplies to flood-hit areas where incessant rain has flooded hundreds of villages, killing 110 people.

    In neighbouring India's Bihar state, 41 people have died, most of them from drowning, collapsed houses or toppled trees.

    Another 21 people have died in India's remote northeastern state of Assam, where soldiers raced to rescue people marooned on rooftops.

    Thousands have been forced to flee their homes while the Nepal Red Cross has warned that shortages of drinking water and food could create a humanitarian crisis in the impoverished Himalayan country.

    Deadly landslides and flooding are common in the region during the summer monsoon season that stretches from June to September.