Massive floods have inundated large areas of India, Nepal, and Bangladesh recently, affecting millions and causing numerous fatalities.
Authorities are conducting extensive rescue operations, directing thousands to shelters and delivering essential supplies to stranded families.
Major rivers like the Brahmaputra and the Koshi, spanning multiple countries, have breached their banks due to heavy rainfall.
Floods and landslides are typical during South Asia’s monsoon season, which accounts for up to 90% of the region’s annual rainfall. However, experts note that climate change has exacerbated these occurrences in recent years.
In Nepal over the weekend, officials reported 14 deaths since Thursday, with critical highways blocked and some bridges swept away by swollen rivers.
Authorities estimate that this year’s monsoon has claimed over 40 lives thus far. They have issued warnings to residents in southeastern Nepal to remain vigilant as the Koshi river, traversing both Nepal and India, is currently flowing above dangerous levels.
“This is not new for us, but the timing is wrong,” Kathmandu resident Rajkumar Bk told the Reuters news agency.
“The flooding triggered by heavy rains started early this year, in July. The water level has reached up to our knees. If the rainfall continues the same way then we will have to run for our lives.”
In the Indian state of Assam, approximately 2.4 million people have been impacted by floods, resulting in 66 deaths since mid-May. Officials have issued warnings of further rainfall, anticipating rising water levels in the Brahmaputra River in the coming days.
Along the banks of the Brahmaputra and other rivers, roads and extensive farmland have been submerged. Recent television footage has depicted villagers salvaging their belongings and evacuating their inundated homes via boats. Several bridges and roads have been washed away, isolating remote villages.
Assam’s Kaziranga nature reserve, habitat to nearly 2,200 one-horned rhinos, has also been submerged. Four rhinos and numerous deer and other wildlife have perished. Experts describe this flooding incident as one of the worst in recent years in terms of animal fatalities.
On Monday, heavy rains led officials to close some schools in Mumbai, India’s financial capital, as certain highways became overwhelmed.
In Bangladesh, authorities report that two million people have been affected by floods, resulting in at least eight deaths. The overflowing Brahmaputra has submerged a quarter of the country’s districts.