At least 44 killed in north India floods

NEW DELHI, India - At least 44 people were killed and thousands moved to relief camps because of flooding caused by torrential rains in northern India's Uttar Pradesh state, officials told AFP Saturday.

Densely populated regions on the banks of two main rivers in the state, which are overflowing because of incessant rainfall in the last 24 to 48 hours, are among the worst hit.

"We had confirmed 44 deaths till late yesterday night. The authorities are focusing on rescue and relief work in the affected regions," Ravindra Pratap Sahi, vice chairman of the state disaster management authority, told AFP.

"We have moved thousands to relief shelters as there is forecast of heavy rains in the next 48 hours in most of the affected districts of the state," Sahi said.

Officials and local media reports said most people lost their lives for a variety of reasons including wall collapses, drowning, lightning and snake bites.

Flash floods after heavy rains killed at least 17 people in western India's Maharashtra state earlier this week.

Monsoon rains are crucial to replenishing water supplies in drought-stricken India, but they kill hundreds of people across the country every year.

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India monsoon floods kill more than 200

NEW DELHI - The death toll from India's monsoon floods climbed to 202 on Tuesday as heavy rainfall kept pounding coastal regions in the west and south.

Authorities have already moved more than 1.2 million people to relief camps.

The southern tourist hotspot of Kerala, which was hit by its worst floods in almost a century last year leaving 450 dead, was once again bearing the brunt of monsoon downpours.

"The death toll in the state has increased to 88... and there are still at least 40 people missing," Pramod Kumar, Kerala police spokesperson, told AFP.

More than 250,000 people across the state's worst-affected districts including Wayanad, Malappuram, and Kozhikode have been shifted to relief camps.

At least 48 people have also lost their lives in neighboring Karnataka state.

A state government official told AFP that 16 people were still missing in Karnataka but the situation had improved as rains had eased.

"We have rescued around 677,000 people in the last few days and think the water level will start dropping in another 24 to 48 hours," the official said.

Local emergency personnel and troops from the army, navy and air force have been deployed for search, rescue and relief operations.

Indian media have also reported 66 deaths in the western states of Gujarat and Maharashtra, with hundreds of thousands rescued from inundated regions.

The monsoon rains are crucial to replenishing water supplies in drought-stricken India, but they kill hundreds of people across the country every year.

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Death toll from Indian floods reaches 147, hundreds of thousands evacuated

NEW DELHI/BENGALURU - The death toll from floods in the Indian states of Karnataka, Kerala and Maharashtra rose to 147, state authorities said on Sunday, as rescue teams raced to evacuate people and waters submerged parts of a world heritage site.

Heavy rain and landslides forced hundreds of thousands of people to take shelter in relief camps, while train services were canceled in several flood-hit areas.

In the southern state of Kerala, at least 57 people were killed in rain-related incidents while over 165,000 people were in relief camps in the state, state authorities said on Sunday.

"Several houses are still covered under 10-12 feet deep mud. This is hampering rescue work," state chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said.

Authorities worried that rescue operations would be hit by thunderstorms and rainfall predicted in some parts of Kerala.

Last year, more than 200 people were killed in Kerala and over five million affected in one of the worst floods in 100 years in the state.

In Karnataka, several structures at world heritage site Hampi, an ancient town, were flooded.

So far 60 people have died in rain-related incidents, said state chief minister B S Yediyurappa, adding nearly 227,000 people were staying in relief camps.

While Karnataka, Kerala and Maharashtra have been the worst hit this year, several other states including Gujarat, Assam and Bihar have also seen heavy damage due to floods.

In Maharashtra, where the death toll stood at 30, the flood situation was improving, according to state-run All India Radio, though authorities said it would be difficult to restore rail services in some flood-hit areas within the next two weeks.

India's main opposition Congress party called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provide relief packages.

Citing media reports, the Congress party said so far this year 446 people have been killed in six flood-hit states including Assam, Bihar and Gujarat.

"Despite the mammoth loss of lives and displacement caused due to floods, the government is failing to realize the gravity of the flood fury," the Congress party said in a statement on Sunday.

(Reporting by Manoj Kumar in NEW DELHI and Gopakumar Warrier in Bengaluru; Editing by Alexandra Ulmer and Susan Fenton)

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Death toll in Nepal floods rises to 55, thousands displaced

KATHMANDU - The death toll in Nepal from flash floods and landslides in the past three days rose to 55 on Sunday, with dozens missing and injured, the government said.

Ten thousand people have been displaced from their homes as incessant monsoon rains pounded many areas in mostly mountainous Nepal since Thursday, submerging large swathes of land, inundating homes, and destroying bridges and roads across the country.

A Home Ministry statement said 55 people had been confirmed dead and 33 injured. There are 30 missing.

India's northeastern state of Assam has also been hard hit by the floods brought by the monsoon, with at least 1.5 million people displaced and 10 dead. And in the Chittagong division of Bangladesh there have been 10 deaths and about 500,000 displaced as 200 villages have been flooded.

In Nepal, cabinet spokesman Gokul Banskota told reporters that "the disaster has caused a big loss to the economy". The government will make an assessment soon, he added.

Nepal Red Cross spokesman Dibya Raj Poudel said the displaced had been sheltered in schools and other public buildings.

Television channels showed roofs of houses submerged in flood waters in the southern plains and people wading through chest-deep water with their belongings on their heads.

Officials said in some areas rains had eased but some rivers in the eastern part of the country were still above flood level. Authorities asked residents to remain alert.

The Kosi River, which flows into the eastern Indian state of Bihar, was among those that had risen above the flood level.

Nepal police official Ishwari Dahal said all 56 sluice gates of the Kosi barrage on the Nepal-India border had been opened last night for six hours to drain out 371,000 cusecs of water, the highest accumulation in 15 years. A cusec is a measurement of flow, equivalent to one cubic foot per second.

"Its water level has gone down now," Dahal told Reuters from the barrage site in southeast Nepal.

The Kosi has been a serious concern for both India and Nepal since it broke its banks in 2008 and changed course, submerging swathes of land and affecting more than 2 million people in India's Bihar state. About 500 people died in that disaster. 

(Reporting by Gopal Sharma; edited by Christian Schmollinger and Louise Heavens)

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Death toll from India's monsoon floods climbs to 213

Severe monsoon flooding has killed 213 people in western India, an official said Sunday, as rescuers continue to sift through villages devastated by torrential rains.

The death toll in Gujarat state jumped from Wednesday's total of 123 as waters recede from low-lying areas, allowing workers to reach remote spots where bodies are starting to appear.


"The death toll in Gujarat this monsoon has risen to 213," A.J Shah, director of relief operations with the Gujarat government, told AFP.

Overwhelmed authorities, who expect the toll to rise still further, said they have struggled to cope with the number of bodies needing identification and post-mortems, resulting in delays in confirming the latest deaths.

An official at the state's emergency control room explained that "only after a post-mortem is conducted we can officially confirm death of a person".

"Since many bodies were found, postmortem took time hence the sudden jump in numbers," the official, who requested anonymity, told AFP.

The rise comes after rescuers plucked 25 bodies, including 17 members of a single family, on Wednesday from two submerged villages in hard-hit Banaskantha district of Gujarat.

Rescue workers have moved close to 130,000 people from low-lying, dangerous areas as helicopters and boats try to reach those still stranded.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who surveyed the devastation across Gujarat from the skies last week, in his radio show on Sunday reassured flood-hit states that all help was being provided to them.

As well as Gujarat, the northeastern states of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam have been hard-hit by monsoon flooding, while pockets of the eastern states of Odisha and Bihar have also been affected.

In Assam at least 77 people have been killed and a state-wide emergency relief operation has been underway since April. Tens of thousands of acres of crops have been destroyed.

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Class suspensions for Thursday and Friday

Several local government units and institutions are suspending classes on Thursday and Friday due to the effects of this week's torrential monsoon rains.

The following areas and institutions suspended classes:

Classes suspended only on Thursday (August 22)
    Cavite (all levels - public and private)
    Dagupan (all levels - public and private)
    Las Piñas (preschool to high school classes; public schools in 1st district only)
    Mandaluyong (preschool to high school – public and private)
    Manila (all levels - public and private)
    Navotas (all levels - public and private)
    Paranaque (all levels - public and private)
    Pasig (pre-school and elementary - public only)
    Taguig (all levels - public only)

 Some cities/municipalities in Bulacan: Malolos City, Meycauayan City, Balagtas, Bulakan, Baliwag (all levels - public and private)

    Asia Pacific College
    Far Eastern University (Manila, Makati and East Asia College)
    La Salle Green Hills
    St. Scholastica's College – Manila (office work to resume)
    Saint Francis of Assisi College (all levels in all campuses)
    San Pedro College of Business Administration

Classes suspended on Thursday (August 22) and Friday (August 23)

    Laguna (all levels – public and private)
    Makati (all levels – public and private)
    Malabon (all levels – public and private)
    Marikina (all levels – public and private)
    Muntinlupa (preschool to high school – public and private)
    Pasay City (all levels – public and private)
    Pateros (preschool to high school – public)
    San Mateo, Rizal (all levels - public and private)
    Valenzuela (preschool to high school – public and private)

    De La Salle University - Science and Technology Complex
    Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Valenzuela
    Polytechnic University of the Philippines (Paranaque and Laguna campuses)
    Valenzuela Polytechnic University

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Rains, floods bring death, destruction to PH

Torrential rain relentlessly battered the flood-soaked Philippine capital and surrounding farming areas on Tuesday, raising this week's monsoon death toll to 7.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said four more people drowned, bringing the death toll to 7.

The drowning victims were 3-year-old Jeric Sorgello of Mariveles, Bataan; 11-month-old Jian Charles Centeno of Malolos, Bulacan; 1-year-old Justin Viray of Minalin, Pampanga and 64-year-old Renato Roman Lacsamana of Lubao, Pampanga.

The first three fatalities were identified as 30-year-old Franco Pedrito Cawayan, who died in a vehicular accident in Cabugao, Apayao; 39-year-old Celedenonio Gamban, who drowned in Tanza, Cavite; and five-year-old Austin Guarismo Betasolo who was hit by a collapsed concrete fence in Binangonan, Rizal.

The deluge, caused by the combined effects of tropical storm "Maring" and the enhanced southwest monsoon (habagat), left 11 people wounded and 4 missing.

At least 125,024 families or 601,104 individuals, most of whom came from Central Luzon and Calabarzon, have been affected by strong rains and floods.

Some 64 roads in Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Cordillera Administrative Region and National Capital Region (NCR) were still impassable due to floods as of Tuesday morning.

Schools and government offices in Manila and many neighboring regions were closed for a second consecutive day, as floods swelled high into urban as well as rural homes.

The state weather agency warned the rain would continue through Tuesday, issuing its top level red alert for Manila and neighboring provinces.

The red alert means "serious flooding" is likely in low-lying areas, and more than three centimeters (1.8 inches) of rain is expected every hour.

The Southeast Asian archipelago endures about 20 major storms or typhoons annually, generally in the second half of the year and many of them deadly. With Agence France-Presse

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Orange rainfall alert raised over Metro Manila, provinces

State weather bureau PAGASA on Tuesday morning extended an orange rainfall alert in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

This, amid rains spawned by the southwest monsoon (habagat) that has been made more intense by Tropical Storm Maring.

PAGASA, in an advisory issued 5 a.m., said heavy to intense rains were observed over most parts of Metro Manila and portions of Cavite and Rizal early Tuesday morning.

Moderate to heavy rains were also seen over parts of Nueva Ecija, Bulacan, Quezon, Occidental Mindoro, Pampanga, Zambales, Bataan, Batangas, Laguna and Tarlac for the past 2 hours.

It added that the bad weather is expected to continue over the next 3 hours, with heavy to intense rains over Metro Manila, Rizal, Bulacan, Zambales, Cavite, Bataan, Pampanga, and Occidental Mindoro.

It also predicted moderate to heavy rains over portions of Batangas, Laguna, and Quezon.

"Flooding is threatening," the weather bureau warned.

At least three people have died after torrential rain engulfed parts of the main island of Luzon, including Metro Manila, where neck-deep water swept through homes forcing thousands into emergency shelters.

Schools, government offices and the stock exchange were closed as a red rainfall alert was raised in the morning -- the highest level of a warning system in which widespread floods are predicted.

Classes remain suspended Tuesday in many areas in the metropolis and nearby provinces.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Devastating India floods leave 95 dead, millions homeless

(CNN) -- Flooding described by India's prime minister as the worst in recent times, has left at least 95 people dead and almost 2 million others homeless in the country's remote Assam state.

The Brahmaputra river overflowed during monsoon rains over the past week, flooding more than 2,000 villages and destroying homes in the northeast of the country, officials said.

Most of the dead were swept away by the fast-flowing water, while 16 were reported to have been buried by landslides caused by the heavy rains.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told journalists Monday that almost half a million people were living in relief camps, and the remaining of the displaced were staying with relatives or living in the open, using tarpaulin sheets for shelter.

Sabir Ali, who lives in one of the affected villages, had to move his family to higher ground with only what they could carry.

"I am stuck. How will I survive? I've been forced to move to railways tracks with my children," he told CNN-IBN.

But water levels have begun to recede, and thousands have returned to damaged homes. A report issued on Tuesday lowered the number of evacuees to 370,000.

Assam's State Disaster Management Authority reported that at least 14 people are missing.

The agency reported that flooding had begun as early as June 24 in some areas and affected all of Assam's 27 districts. It is considered the worst flooding the state has seen since 2004. Assam's river island of Majuli experienced its worst flooding since 1950.

Prime Minister Singh and Sonia Gandhi of India's ruling Congress party flew over the flooded areas to survey the damage. Singh announced that an initial 5 billion rupees (US$90 million) would be given in emergency funds to help with recovery efforts.

"I have witnessed the extensive damage that the floods have caused. The people of Assam are facing one of the worst floods in recent times," Singh said in a prepared statement.

After his tour of the affected districts, Singh said military helicopters were dropping food packets and drinking water to marooned people, and soldiers were using speedboats to rescue villages from rooftops.

"Once we have completed rescue and relief operation, our focus will shift to restoration of the damaged infrastructure," Singh said.

Large swaths of cropland have been affected by the flooding, and a railway line has been severely damaged by landslides.

Every year the monsoon dumps heavy rains across India, and every year it claims lives. The total number of deaths throughout India attributed to monsoon season this year has reached 236.

Minnesota, Wisconsin residents cope with deadly flooding

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