Monsoon floods, landslides kill dozens in India

By Saurabh Sharma and Jatindra Dash

Good luck now/Bhubaneshwar, IndiaAugust 21 – At least 50 people have died in northern and eastern India over the past three days in floods and landslides triggered by heavy monsoon rains, officials said on Sunday.

The rains leveled hundreds of villages, washed away homes and left residents stranded as rescue teams scrambled to evacuate survivors.

A state government official told Reuters that at least 36 people have died in Himachal Pradesh after heavy rains and landslides and floods in the past three days.

In the neighboring hill state of Uttarakhand, an official government report said four people had died and 13 were missing due to incessant rains.

At least 6 people have died due to heavy rains in the eastern state of Odisha, an official said.

Five people were swept away by the overflowing Nalgari river in Ramgarh district of eastern Jharkhand state on Saturday, officials said. A local official said that 4 bodies have been recovered so far.