India floods kill five in northeast

Torrential monsoon rains in India's northeast triggered landslides and floods that swept away and killed at least five people in Assam, disaster officials said yesterday.

Rivers swollen by the lashing rain -- including the mighty Brahmaputra and its tributaries -- broke their banks across the region.

Assam State Disaster Management Authority officials on Saturday confirmed five deaths in the last 24 hours.

A red alert warning had been issued for 12 districts of Assam after non-stop rains over the last three days led to flooding in many urban areas.

The situation was particularly bad in the Guwahati. City authorities have disconnected the electricity in several districts to cut the risk of electrocution. CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said his government had deployed rescue teams.

India's annual monsoon season from June to September offers respite from intense summer heat and is crucial for replenishing water supplies, but also brings widespread death and destruction.

The deaths recorded are among the first of this season, with scores often killed over the course of the rains across India, a country of 1.4 billion people.