Floods and landslides have claimed at least 56 lives in India’s Uttar Pradesh over the past three days, while 12 people have died in rain-related disasters in neighbouring Nepal, authorities said.
More than 1,000 houses were damaged in Uttar Pradesh, according to the state relief commissioner’s office.
Nepal, which is still recovering from devastating floods in August, was hit by another wave of flooding and landslides. Nepal’s disaster authority spokesperson Shanti Mahat said 12 people had died in rain-related incidents since Thursday, while seven others remained missing.
Scientists have warned of a rise in extreme weather events across South Asia in recent years, linking the trend to increasing temperatures and changing climate patterns.
The August flooding in Nepal, triggered by the collapse of a glacial mountain formation along the China-Nepal border, killed more than 1,400 people and left thousands missing.
Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state with more than 240 million residents, regularly experiences heavy rainfall and thunderstorms during the June-to-September monsoon season.
Authorities said the latest deaths occurred during a period of “exceptionally heavy rain” after a depression over the Bay of Bengal moved inland, intensifying rainfall across the region.
The state received 66.5 millimetres of rain between Friday and Sunday, significantly above the seasonal average of 7.6mm, officials said.
The heavy downpours also caused widespread damage to crops, with farmers concerned about delays in sowing for the upcoming agricultural season.
In India’s eastern state of Odisha, more than 70,000 people living in low-lying areas were evacuated after rivers rose following heavy rainfall, according to local media reports.
The rains also damaged bridges and culverts, prompting authorities to close Devkund, a popular tourist destination.
Monsoon-related floods, landslides and other disasters are an annual occurrence across India, particularly after prolonged summer conditions that leave several regions vulnerable to water shortages and drought.
