NEW DELHI: Floods caused by heavy monsoon rains in two of India's poorest states have displaced or affected 8 million people and killed 111 since May, authorities said on Tuesday (Jul 28), at a time when coronavirus cases have swelled there.
The Brahmaputra river in the northeastern state of Assam is flowing above the "danger level" in many places, while heavy rains that began this week in Bihar in the east will last until Wednesday, officials say.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Since the start of the monsoon season on Jun 1, Assam has received 15 per cent more rainfall than a 50-year average and Bihar 47 per cent more, according to the country's weather department.
READ: Modi says COVID-19 risk persists in India, recoveries rise
The floods in Assam, where at least nine one-horned rhinos have drowned in an inundated national park, have so far affected 5.7 million people, more than 45,000 of whom are still sheltered in makeshift relief centres.
A woman spreads rice for drying on an embankment in a flooded area in Morigaon district, in the northeastern state of Assam, India, Jul 20, 2020. (REUTERS/David Talukdar)
Advertisement
Advertisement
In Bihar, floods have stranded more than 2.4 million people, with around 12,800 staying in government shelters, complicating efforts by officials to enforce social distancing measures to halt the spread of the novel coronavirus in the state.
It has so far reported more than 41,000 infections, with 255 deaths from the COVID-19 disease, straining health resources in the state.
FILE PHOTO: Villagers row a makeshift raft through a flooded field to reach a safer place at the flood-affected Mayong village in Morigaon district, in the northeastern state of Assam, India, Jun 29, 2020. (REUTERS/Anuwar Hazarika/File Photo)
NEW DELHI: Floods caused by heavy monsoon rains in two of India's poorest states have displaced or affected 8 million people and killed 111 since May, authorities said on Tuesday (Jul 28), at a time when coronavirus cases have swelled there.
The Brahmaputra river in the northeastern state of Assam is flowing above the "danger level" in many places, while heavy rains that began this week in Bihar in the east will last until Wednesday, officials say.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Since the start of the monsoon season on Jun 1, Assam has received 15 per cent more rainfall than a 50-year average and Bihar 47 per cent more, according to the country's weather department.
READ: Modi says COVID-19 risk persists in India, recoveries rise
The floods in Assam, where at least nine one-horned rhinos have drowned in an inundated national park, have so far affected 5.7 million people, more than 45,000 of whom are still sheltered in makeshift relief centres.
A woman spreads rice for drying on an embankment in a flooded area in Morigaon district, in the northeastern state of Assam, India, Jul 20, 2020. (REUTERS/David Talukdar)
Advertisement
Advertisement
In Bihar, floods have stranded more than 2.4 million people, with around 12,800 staying in government shelters, complicating efforts by officials to enforce social distancing measures to halt the spread of the novel coronavirus in the state.
It has so far reported more than 41,000 infections, with 255 deaths from the COVID-19 disease, straining health resources in the state.
FILE PHOTO: Villagers row a makeshift raft through a flooded field to reach a safer place at the flood-affected Mayong village in Morigaon district, in the northeastern state of Assam, India, Jun 29, 2020. (REUTERS/Anuwar Hazarika/File Photo)
