Floods Leave Thousands Homeless in India, Nepal

At least 50,000 people are left homeless in India and 30,000 in Nepal after severe floods deluged the region.
Floods Leave Thousands Homeless in India, Nepal
Indian commuters make their way through a waterlogged street after a heavy downpour flooded parts of Amritsar on August 13, 2008. (Narinder Nanu/AFP/Getty Images)
8/20/2008
Updated:
10/1/2015
<a><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/09/india_82286742.jpg" alt="Indian commuters make their way through a waterlogged street after a heavy downpour flooded parts of Amritsar on August 13, 2008.  (Narinder Nanu/AFP/Getty Images)" title="Indian commuters make their way through a waterlogged street after a heavy downpour flooded parts of Amritsar on August 13, 2008.  (Narinder Nanu/AFP/Getty Images)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-1834076"/></a>
Indian commuters make their way through a waterlogged street after a heavy downpour flooded parts of Amritsar on August 13, 2008.  (Narinder Nanu/AFP/Getty Images)

At least 50,000 people are left homeless in India and 30,000 in Nepal after severe floods deluged the region.

Heavy monsoon rains in the flood-prone Assam, India swept through 100 villages, leaving a trail of destruction. Homes were reported to be destroyed and fertile croplands devastated.

School halls and government buildings were converted to shelters to accommodate the victims. Many camped on highways under plastic sheets with what little they had salvaged of their belongings, reports Reuters.

Assam accounts for India’s 55 per cent of tea producion

In neighbouring Nepal another 30,000 were forced to abandon their homes, after a dam collapsed leading to flooding in the area.

The Koshi dam on the Saptakoshi river in Sunsari district collapsed on Monday, August 18 after breaching embankments.

The high water levels has slowed down rescue efforts, officials say, as many people remain stranded. According to BBC news at least three people have died.

Television channels showed video clips of people wading waist-deep water to higher ground, carrying babies in their arms and balancing their belongings on their heads.

The annual monsoon season starts in early June and lasts through September. Floods and landslides are common in mountainous Nepal and about 50 people have died since the rains started this year.

With Reuters