Monsoon rains leave 100 dead in India

The death toll jumped from around 120 on Monday, after the discovery of more bodies in West Bengal and the western state of Gujarat where water levels have receded, allowing families to return home. Numerous deaths were due to drowning, collapsed masonry, lightning strikes and electrocution.

On Saturday, at least 20 people were killed after a landslide in the north-eastern state of Manipur buried a whole village. Heavy rains in Myanmar have caused more flooding, devastating several townships and forcing more than 18,000 people into temporary shelters, officials said.

Another 13 people were reported hurt in landslides which were triggered by heavy rainfall, details were sketchy because rescuers were still trying to get to the area.

In Odisha, 07 districts of Odisha namely Jajpur, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Bhadrak, Balasore, Jharsuguda and Deogarh are affected. Although most districts experienced heavy rainfall, Jalore, Jhalawar, Baran, Sirohi, Barmer and Dungarpur have had the worst hit. In Odisha, 4,80,399 people were affected by the floods which so far claimed five lives. President Pranab Mukherjee, in individual messages to the governors of the flood-affected states including West Bengal, condoled the loss of lives due to Cyclone Komen and the floods.

Official estimates said people in around 600 villages in 15 blocks of the districts were affected by flood.

The Met department said the flood situation has been aggravated by Cyclone Komen.

At least 215 people have died in floods and a landslide in India over the past week, a Home Ministry official said Tuesday. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called in the army to carry out rescue operations in the flood-hit areas on Sunday, reports Hindustan Times.

Apart from state disaster response force, police, RAC etc., eight teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed for rescue and relief operations. “High tides worsened the situation”, state irrigation minister Rajib Banerjee told PTI.

Television pictures showed people carrying bags packed with possessions as they waded through knee-high water, villagers standing on the banks of rising rivers and scores of children sitting in lines in a camp being fed rice and lentils.