90 Dead, 1 Million Displaced by Monsoon Flooding in India and Nepal

Flooding in India and Nepal has killed at least 90 people and displaced more than one million.

The BBC reported on Monday that, according to police, at least 65 people have died in Nepal due to the floods. 38 were injured and 30 people are missing. In India the situation is also critical. In an interview with The New York Times Chief Executive Mohamad Farukh of Rapid Response reported that at least 25 people have died while around one million were forced to leave their homes.

During what is usually the most intense month of South Asia’s often deadly monsoon season, flooding has been particularly extreme this year in Nepal. It is anticipated that due to the impacts of climate change, that more intense monsoons will strike the region. The flooding began, coincidentally, as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) began an author meeting in Kathmandu, Nepal Sunday.

“Scientists have been warning that because of climate change, monsoon patterns are also changing and the region needs to prepare for more extremes in weather, severe droughts as well as more intense periods of rain,” Al Jazeera reporter Subina Shrestha said.

The conditions in Assam are leading to uncertainty among rescue workers as to how much worse the situation will get. The Guardian reported that low-lying areas are inundated with 2.2 meters or water.

“It might get worse, it all depends on the precipitation model. The rain model is
changing because of climate issues,” founder of the NGO Rural Volunteers Centre Ravindranath told The Guardian. “We can’t assume anything now.”

In his interview with The New York Times, Farukh stated that the flooding in India was much more extreme than in the past and that it seems likely that the situation will continue to deteriorate.

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“It is getting worse day by day because of continuous rains and overflowing rivers,” he said.

Torrential rain began on Friday in Nepal, affecting 30 of the 77 districts in the country and blocking highways and knocking out communication towers. According to Al Jazeera, more than 10,000 people have been displaced and nine major highways remain blocked.

The Guardian reported that in Bangladesh, around 40,000 people have been impacted by heavy rains and at least a dozen have been killed by lightning strikes.

The 900,000 Rohingya refugees living in camps in India are especially vulnerable to being harmed and affected by the monsoons. At least 10 people living in camps have died as a result and thousands of makeshift homes have been destroyed since April.

“The rain and wind are causing misery on the ground and our teams are working day and night to provide emergency services and relocations to affected people,” International Organization for Migration Bangladesh deputy chief of mission Manuel Pereira said in a statement reported by The New York Times.

Heavy rains have also caused displacement in Myanmar, the country from which the Rohingya refugees have fled from. Reuters reported on Monday that more than 18,000 people have been forced to flee their homes and one camp for those who were displaced by violence within the country was flooded.

“The whole camp is flooded and people are desperately in need of immediate shelter and food,” Arakan National Party Secretary Tun Aung Kyaw told Reuters.

Originally published by: EcoWatch