Flood kills 189, displaces over 4 million people in India

Not less than 4 million people in India’s northeastern state of Assam and neighbouring Nepal have been displaced by heavy flooding from monsoon rains, with at least 189 deaths.

While disclosing this on Sunday July 19, 2020, government officials said that the overflowing Brahmaputra River had damaged crops.

The officials added that the river, which flows through China’s Tibet, India and Bangladesh, triggered mudslides, which displaced millions of people.

It was reported that over 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.

Assam water resources Minister, Keshab Mahanta, stated that the flood situation “remains critical with most of the rivers flowing menacingly above the danger mark.”

Mahanta stated further that Assam battles two major challenges: 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.