India hit by unusually heavy rainfall
India experienced unusually heavy rain for the month of August, the country’s state-run weather office reported on Wednesday. Last month’s rainfall was 3.4% above India’s average. In July, India’s rainfall was 16.8% above average.
The heavy rainfall has caused floods to wreak havoc across the country. This week, about 700 tribal people in the western state of Maharashtra were forced to leave their homes and camp out along a highway due to the floods. Those camping out said the flooding has become worse in recent years.
In Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district, at least 34 out of 52 towns and villages along a riverbank were under water for days. Three of the villages were almost destroyed, and water levels were at their highest point in 35 years.
Since August 19, at least 32 people in India’s northern states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh have been killed in floods and landslides, often due to houses collapsing in the floods.
Monsoon floods are claiming lives across Asia. Pakistan saw its heaviest rainfall in 30 years last month, and at least 549 people in the country were killed by floods. More than 46,200 houses were damaged.
In Thailand, floods in 28 provinces killed three people and affected 14,657 households between August 15-23, according to a report by the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation. Two deaths were reported from Petchabun in the central part of Thailand, while information on the third death wasn’t revealed.
As monsoon season pushes on, Asian countries continue to bear the brunt of floods.
