Floods affect 7 million in Bihar and northeast; death toll mounts to 44

The flood situation remained grim in parts of the northeast and Bihar as the death toll mounted to 44 on Monday, with 7 million people affected, even as north India witnessed widespread rainfall.

The national capital’s long wait for monsoon rains also en­ded Monday as it received 28.8 mm precipitation, the maximum in July this year; more rainfall is expected over the next two to three days.

In Assam, the deluge spread to 30 of the state’s 33 districts, affecting nearly 4.3 million people and claiming 15 lives, besides submerging rhino habitats in the Kaziranga National Park, the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary and the Manas National Park.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal over phone and discussed about the prevailing situation on Monday. Altogether, 4,157 villages are reeling from the impact of the floods that have overrun 1,53,211 hectares of farm land with standing crops, the Assam State Disaster Management Authority said.

The death toll in the Bihar floods mounted to 24, with 2.6 million people reeling from the deluge in 12 districts of the state, following incessant rainfall in neighbouring country Nepal.

Nepal seeks foreign help


Flood-hit Nepal has appealed to the international agencies for help to prevent the possible water-borne diseases and to ensure proper health services to the tens of thousand of people affected by the incessant rains that has claimed at least 67 lives, according to media reports. Nepal has been hit by heavy rainfall since Thursday. More than 25 districts and 10,385 households have been affected.

PTI