Floods, landslides kill 56 in India, 12 in Nepal: Officials

LUCKNOW, India

A local man sits beside the remains of his home, which was destroyed by floods in Nepal’s Nuwakot district. (AP Photo)

Heavy rain triggered floods and landslides across northern India and Nepal, killing at least 68 people over the past three days, disaster authorities said on Sept. 27.

In India’s most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, 56 people have died over the past three days with more than 1,000 houses damaged, the Relief Commissioner’s office said in a statement.

Neighboring Nepal, already reeling under the catastrophic Aug. 26 flood, was struck by a fresh wave of flooding and landslides that has killed 12 people since Sept. 24.

“Since Sept. 24, 12 people have died in rain-related disasters like floods and landslides,” Shanti Mahat, spokesperson at Nepal’s disaster authority, told AFP, adding that seven more were missing.

Scientists have warned in recent years of an increase in extreme weather events across South Asia, linking them to rising temperatures and changing climate patterns.

The flooding in Nepal last month, triggered by a glacial mountain collapse on the China-Nepal border, has killed more than 1,400 people and left thousands missing.

Uttar Pradesh, home to more than 240 million people, is frequently battered by rain and thunderstorms during the annual monsoon season from June to September.