Incessant rains received by India and Nepal due to untimely monsoons caused floods that claimed more than 150 people. The late heavy monsoon rains triggered flash floods, destroyed homes, crops and infrastructure and left thousands stranded. India's annual monsoon rains usually run from June to September.

The north Indian state of Uttarakhand has been especially badly hit, with 48 confirmed deaths, SA Murugesan, secretary of the state's disaster management department, told Reuters.

In Nainital, a popular tourist destination in the Himalayan state, the town's main lake broke its banks, submerging the main thoroughfare and damaging bridges and rail tracks.

In nearby Chamoli district, rescuers from India's paramilitary National Disaster Response Force continued to search debris following landslides caused by the heavy rains.

According to a statement from the chief minister's office, some 42 people have died in the last week in the southern Indian state of Kerala.

Many bridges and roads have been damaged and many towns have been cut off, and the army has been brought in to restore contact and reach thousands of people stranded.

State Disaster Secretary S. Murugeshan said that the death toll may rise further, with a number of people still missing, including 20 tourists who went trekking on a glacier.

Five people were killed in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal, including two girls aged eight and 10 from the same family swept away as heavy rains pounded the hills of Darjeeling and other districts.

“Mud, rocks and water tumbling down the hills of Darjeeling damaged nearly 400 houses and several thousand people were evacuated away from the swollen rivers on the foothills,” disaster management minister Javed Ahmed Khan told AFP.

“Several hundred tourists are stranded in the hill resort of Darjeeling... Landslides blocked highways and roads in the region,” he said.

The Met office issued a red alert for the state, warning that extremely heavy rainfall would continue in Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Alipurdur on Thursday.

“Crops and homes have been wiped out, which is a severe blow to families already grappling with the devastating fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic," said Azmat Ulla, a senior official at the International Federation of Red Crescent Societies as quoted by Reuters.

“The people of Nepal and India are sandwiched between the pandemic and worsening climate disasters, heavily impacting millions of lives and livelihoods.”

“All District Disaster Management Committees have been actively working for the rescue and relief operations. Under the committee, Nepal Police, Armed Force Police, Nepal Army and other agencies have been mobilised,” emergencies official Dijan Bhattarai said.

In Nepal, at least 77 people have died in flooding due to heavy monsoon rains.

Image Courtesy: Reuters