Floods in India, Nepal displace nearly four million people, at least 189 dead

[snoop1130]

Floods in India, Nepal displace nearly four million people, at least 189 dead

By Zarir Hussain and Gopal Sharma

 

FILE PHOTO: One-horned rhinos move to higher grounds in the flood-affected area of Kaziranga National Park in Nagaon district, in the northeastern state of Assam, India, July 16, 2020. REUTERS/Anuwar Hazarika

 

GUWAHATI, India/KATHMANDU, Nepal (Reuters) - Nearly four million people in India's northeastern state of Assam and neighbouring Nepal have been displaced by heavy flooding from monsoon rains, with dozens missing as deaths rose to at least 189, government officials said on Sunday.

 

The overflowing Brahmaputra River, which flows through China's Tibet, India and Bangladesh, has damaged crops and triggered mudslides, displacing millions of people, officials said.

 

More than 2.75 million people in Assam have been displaced by three waves of floods since late May that has claimed 79 lives after two more deaths were reported overnight, a state government official said.

 

"The flood situation remains critical with most of the rivers flowing menacingly above the danger mark," Assam water resources Minister Keshab Mahanta told Reuters.

 

Assam is facing the twin challenge of combating floods and the coronavirus pandemic. Out of 33 districts, 25 remained affected after the current wave of flooding, beginning a fortnight ago.

 

India is grappling with the novel coronavirus, which has infected nearly 1.1 million people and 26,816 have died from the COVID-19 disease, government data showed on Sunday.

 

In neighbouring Nepal, the government asked residents along its southern plains on Sunday to remain alert as heavy monsoon rains were expected to pound the Himalayan nation where more than 100 have died in floods and landslides since June, officials said.

 

Some 110 people were killed and another 100 injured as landslides and flash floods washed or swept away homes, upended roads and bridges and displaced hundreds of others in 26 of the country's 77 districts, police said.

 

Home ministry official Murari Wasti said the death toll was expected to rise as 48 people were still missing.

 

"Search and rescue teams are looking for those who are missing in different places but chances of finding them alive are slim," Wasti told Reuters.

 

Barun Paudel of the weather forecasting office in the capital, Kathmandu, said heavy rains were expected to pound much of the mainly mountainous nation in the next four days.

 

"We have urged residents to remain alert against possible landslides and floods," he said.

 

Landslides and flash floods are common in Nepal, India's Assam and Bihar states during the June-September annual rainy season.

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-07-20

 

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[GreasyFingers]

Am I being myopic with TVF that they report on floods in India but not China. The Thai news was fill of videaos of the floods there.

[Morch]

2 hours ago, GreasyFingers said:

Am I being myopic with TVF that they report on floods in India but not China. The Thai news was fill of videaos of the floods there.

 

I think they buy a news package, meaning they get a bunch of stories (predefined categories/interests) and post these. Most of the time this covers a fair bit. Also, when it comes down to it, this isn't a very China oriented forum - China comes up either in relation to Thai issues, or regional/global politics. 

 

Not sure about this (news team, correct me if wrong), but I think you may send them a notice by PM if there's a relevant/important story that fails to make it.

[thaibeachlovers]

All due sympathy for those affected, but doesn't India have a monsoon every year, so why are they not prepared, even if it is more severe than usual? After all, the climate change people have been on about it for a very long time now.

Could it be that the money for flood defenses somehow doesn't get used as it should be?

[Morch]

2 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

All due sympathy for those affected, but doesn't India have a monsoon every year, so why are they not prepared, even if it is more severe than usual? After all, the climate change people have been on about it for a very long time now.

Could it be that the money for flood defenses somehow doesn't get used as it should be?

 

India got major corruption issues on national, state and local level. That's nothing new. Regardless, properly addressing issues relating to dealing with such natural disasters, even reoccurring ones, is not easy anyway. Certainly not on the scale experienced in the sub-continent. We've got similar issues in Thailand on a regular basis, though perhaps of a less severe nature.

 

I think that expecting a major change through investment in infrastructure is something which would require much patience. And optimism. On a more realistic level, maybe the metric ought to be related to response capabilities - emergency and medical services, reconstruction of necessary facilities and general care for people in the area. While far from perfect, it seems like there's some improvement on these fronts.