Monsoon rains wreak flood havoc across South Asia

By News Desk

NEW DELHI: Torrential monsoon rains swept away homes and triggered landslides across South Asia, affecting millions of people and claiming at least 180 lives, officials said on Tuesday.

The monsoon is crucial for irrigation and groundwater supplies in the impoverished region and brings relief after the unforgiving summer. But the downpours—which stretch from June to September—can turn deadly and have wreaked havoc again this year across India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Azad Kashmir, with people, dwellings and boats in remote low-lying areas washed away.

In Azad Kashmir, flash floods killed 23 people and damaged 120 houses, with the water and power supplies crippled. The United Nations said on Monday it “stands ready to work with the authorities in the affected countries as they respond to the humanitarian needs resulting from this ongoing monsoon season”.