Floods, Landslides: Nearly 200 perish in India, Nepal
Forecasters warn of more heavy rain
Nearly 200 people have died in floods and landslides in India and Nepal, officials said yesterday, with whole families buried in their homes and two young girls swept away as forecasters warned of yet more heavy rain.
Experts say they were victims of the ever-more unpredictable and extreme weather that has hit South Asia in recent years caused by climate change and exacerbated by deforestation and excessive development.
The unusually late deluge of rain in the region saw Nepal record the sharpest rise in casualties overnight, with 88 people now dead, among them a family of six whose house was obliterated by an avalanche of soil and debris.
In Indian state of Uttarakhand, 55 people were confirmed to have died yesterday. They included five people from a family whose house was buried by a massive landslide.