Horrible floods sweep northeastern India

The Brahmaputra River, one of the world’s largest rivers that flows from Tibet to India and eventually into Bangladesh, has burst its banks in Assam, flooding more than 1,800 villages in 26 counties this month.

“Twenty people have died in separate drownings and five more have died in landslides in the past 10 days,” said Pijush Hazarika, head of Assam’s water resources management agency. .

Mr. Hazarika added that local water levels are starting to recede.

However, parts of the railway network in Assam have been devastated. Roads, homes and buildings in many parts of this northeastern state are submerged.

According to CBS, last week, Indian authorities sent military forces to participate in rescue and relief work in Assam. Air force helicopters helped evacuate people from a train stuck on flooded tracks at a station.

A train is swept away by mud at the platform of New Halflong, Assam state. Source: North East India Railway Company

The government has set up 366 relief centers across 20 counties, providing temporary shelter to more than 95,000 people. Estimates of the total physical damage during the disaster have not been published.

Such intense monsoon rains occur every year in Assam, leading to flash floods and severe landslides, forcing local residents to flee their homes. However, there are many opinions that natural disasters are becoming more and more severe as a result of global climate change.

Here are some pictures of the devastating extent of floods, landslides caused in Assam state over the past week, recorded by Reuters, CBS, and Hindustan Times:

Tuan Anh

China evacuates tens of thousands of people because of floods

Chinese media reported today (August 9) that more than 80,000 people had been evacuated because of heavy rains and flooding in the southwestern province of Sichuan.