India’s monsoon floods linger on

The summer rains are retreating across South Asia, but thousands of people remain displaced in India’s Assam state.

India’s monsoon floods linger on
Thousands have been displaced in monsoon floods in Assam state and more than 1,600 villages were inundated [EPA]

The withdrawal of this year’s southwest monsoon is now under way. Although the rains have eased across a good part of South Asia, they do remain heavy over Bangladesh, parts of Pakistan, and along the far northeast of India.

The situation remains critical in Assam state where 26 people died in the latest round of flooding. As many as 85,000 people still require shelter in the 214 relief camps set up by the government.


IN PICTURES: Floods wreak havoc across South Asia


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The city of Dibrugarh recorded 56mm on Saturday. The Brahmaputra River and many of its tributaries have breached their banks following the heavy downpours resulting in some damage to homes, roads, bridges and power lines.

There are 18 districts across Assam still affected by the floods. However, this monsoon season has produced near average rainfall as a whole across the state.

West Bengal and Rajasthan have both received excess rainfall for the same period which runs from June 1 to September 5. Elsewhere, nearly half of India has had less than 80 percent of their normal monsoon rain.

Source: Al Jazeera