Millions Affected as Widespread Flooding Inundates Swaths of Southern Asia
Flooding brought on by torrential monsoon rains has left large swaths of land across parts of southern Asia underwater, and has affected an estimated 10 million people in India alone. The usual monsoon rains have been made worse this year by Cyclone Komen, which made landfall in Bangladesh last Friday. In India, 200 people have died and more than 1 million have been moved to relief camps in West Bengal, which has taken the brunt of the damage, reports Agence France-Presse. Flash floods and landslides have swept away homes, farmlands and livelihoods in Manipur, Gujarat and Rajasthan states as well. On Tuesday, two passenger trains derailed off a bridge into a river in Madhya Pradesh. It is believed the heavy rain had caused the river levels to rise and partially submerged the track, reports the BBC. Meanwhile, flooding in neighboring Burma has caused widespread devastation in several western states, prompting the government to appeal for international assistance on Tuesday. More than 200,000 people have been affected and at least 47 people have died. Burma's President Thein Sein has declared four areas in the country, formally known as Myanmar, as disaster zones and many remote areas are still cut off by floodwaters, landslides or damaged roads, leaving thousands of people without aid. Aid agencies are particularly concerned with the 140,000 people already living in displacement camps in the country's western Rakhine state. "The floods are hitting children and families who are already very vulnerable, including those living in camps in Rakhine state," said Shalini Bahuguna, from the U.N. Children's Fund UNICEF. Flooding has claimed 150 lives and affected 800,000 people across several Pakistan provinces including Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and the disputed region of Kashmir. In northern Vietnam, flooding has left more than 12,000 people without electricity for days and record rainfall has affected the power supply to 27 cities and provinces nationwide. Since July 26, Quang Ninh province saw a total rainfall of 1,500 mm, considered to be the worst in 40 years. Heavy rains and flooding have damaged 10,000 houses and ruined 4,000 hectares of rice and other crops in the province. Seventeen people have died. And in disaster-hit Nepal, at least 90 people have died in the past two months as a result of floods and landslides.