At least 700 killed in South Asia floods
Baku, August 20, AZERTAC
The confirmed death toll passed 700 and more than a million were driven from their homes as large swathes of South Asia reeled under monsoon floods on Sunday (Aug 20), officials said, according to
Channel NewsAsia.
At least 100 deaths were reported overnight across India and Bangladesh following the latest in a series of deluges since Aug 10, as the annual monsoon hit the north and east of the region.
Anirudh Kumar, a top disaster management official in India's eastern state of Bihar, said 53 bodies were recovered as water levels started to recede in some areas. "The total death toll stands at 205," Kumar told AFP.
Nearly 400,000 people were staying in state-run shelters, with an estimated 10 million affected by the deluge, the worst since 2008 when nearly 300 people were killed.
Some 10,000 emergency workers and soldiers were supporting local officials in relief and rescue operations. In neighbouring Uttar Pradesh state 69 deaths were reported as two million residents remain affected by the floods.
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