Hundreds of people have died and millions have been affected by the rains in India and Bangladesh

Dhaka / New Delhi, June 20 (EFE) .- Monsoon rains in South Asia have killed at least 100 people and affected millions in northeastern India and Bangladesh in the past week. .

The states of Assam and Meghalaya in northeastern India have been hit hard by heavy rains, with at least 62 people dead and many missing in the past seven days, Indian officials say.

The Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said in its latest bulletin that 45 people have been killed in the last 24 hours in Assam alone, eleven of them dead in the last 24 hours alone and 7 are missing.

According to the report, about 4.7 million people have been affected in the region, 231,000 of whom have been relocated to temporary shelters.

For its part, the government of the Indian state of Meghalaya announced last week that 17 people had died in the region due to floods and landslides.

In Bangladesh, in the absence of official data, the Disaster Forum’s non-profit organization has counted a total of 38 people in the past week to date, 28 of whom have died from lightning strikes.

In addition, according to Bangladesh’s Ministry of Disaster Management, at least 12 districts in the country have been affected by the floods, which have affected 2.5 million people, many of them in Sylhet, Sunamganj and Netrokona districts. About 447,000 people had to be evacuated to shelters there.

“So far, 12 districts in Bangladesh have been inundated, but with less rain the situation has started to improve a bit,” Aripussaman Puyyan Efe, head of the flood warning and forecast center, told Efe.

Although flooding is normal during the monsoon season, the cities of Lurergor in Sunamganj and Lalagal in Sylhet have already received above-average rainfall for this month.

Rainfall causes significant personal and material damage in South Asian countries each year, especially during the monsoon season between May and September.

Heavy rains in northern India and Bangladesh last month killed at least 74 people and injured millions more.

This rainfall, while essential for agriculture in the region, accounts for more than 60% of the annual rainfall in India, which at this time produces staple foods such as rice and maize. EFE

am-igr / mt / mah

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