Dozens killed in India's northeast after rains trigger floods, landslides
Authorities on Sunday said at least eight people were killed in Assam state and nine more in neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh, many of them buried under earth and debris dislodged by the torrential downpour.
Three members of one family were killed in a mudslide in Assam's Guwahati, officials said, as heavy rains led to flooding in many areas of the city, leading to long power outages and prompting authorities to shut schools and colleges on Saturday.
Authorities disconnected electricity in several areas to reduce the risk of electrocution, Assam's Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.
In Mizoram state, five people lost their lives in a landslide, while six others died in Meghalaya state. Officials in Nagaland and Tripura states also confirmed two deaths.
Meghalaya's Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma ordered emergency teams to stay vigilant, 'especially in landslide-prone and low-lying areas', he warned in a public statement.
The Indian Army launched a large-scale rescue effort in Manipur state, evacuating hundreds. 'People have been shifted to safer places,' the army said. 'Food, water and essential medicines were provided.'
The downpour has continued for three straight days, and India's weather agency has forecast more heavy rains in the region in the coming days as it issued a red alert for several northeastern districts.
Rivers across the region, including the Brahmaputra, which originates in the Himalayas and flows through India into Bangladesh, have breached their banks, submerging vast areas and cutting off access to many communities.
Floods and landslides are common during India's June-to-September monsoon season, which is vital for agriculture but often deadly. Dozens of people die each year as rainfall overwhelms fragile infrastructure across the world's most populous country.
Last month, Mumbai was deluged by rain nearly two weeks before its usual beginning, the earliest monsoon arrival in the capital city of the western state of Maharashtra in over two decades, according to meteorological officials.
Scientists say climate change is altering weather patterns across South Asia, but the precise effects on the monsoon system remain unclear.
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