Heavy rains swamped hundreds of villages as houses were washed away by mud, roads were covered in water, bridges were destroyed and rescuers rushed to help stranded residents. In the Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh, at least 36 people have died and hundreds have taken refuge in relief camps after being displaced. Four people have been killed and 13 are missing in neighboring Uttarakhand state in a series of cloudbursts – where extreme rainfall falls in a short period of time. Image: An evacuated building collapses due to a landslide in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India Ranjit Kumar Sinha, an official in Uttarakhand’s disaster management department, said: “We have deployed helicopters to rescue people stranded in remote areas due to rain-related incidents. The rescue operation is in full swing.” More heavy rain is forecast for the region over the next two days, the India Meteorological Department said. In the eastern state of Odisha, floods have affected nearly 800,000 people and displaced thousands from their homes, with the rains knocking out power and water supplies and damaging roads. Reuters reported that there were at least six deaths in Odisha, where 120,000 people have so far been evacuated from the affected areas. Disasters caused by landslides and floods are common in India’s northern Himalayas during the June-September monsoon season, and scientists say they are becoming more frequent as global warming contributes to melting glaciers. Image: A flooded bridge after heavy rains in Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, India Meanwhile, in neighboring Pakistan, floods have killed at least 36 people, including 11 in areas bordering Afghanistan. And a disaster official in Afghanistan’s Logar province said there were at least nine deaths, but the death toll was still unclear. The floods washed away houses as well as killing livestock and destroying farmland. Image: People inspect their damaged houses after heavy floods in Khushi district of Logar province, south of Kabul, Afghanistan. Photo: AP Villagers in the Khushi district of Logar province, south of the capital Kabul, were seen cleaning up after floods severely damaged their homes. Del Aga, a village elder, said the flooding was unprecedented in Kushi’s history. “It destroyed all the animals, people’s houses and farmland,” he said. “People are homeless, they have taken refuge in the mountains.”
