Death toll passes 2,000 in worst monsoon in decades

THE death toll from the worst monsoon floods to hit south Asia in decades passed 2,000, even as torrents of muddy water receded from millions of acres of farmland and rains shifted west.

Thousands of villages remained under water and threatened by disease, while millions of people were still displaced, mainly in India and Bangladesh, where the severe floods also destroyed valuable crops.

The Indian government is in the process of releasing money budgeted for “calamity” relief from a disaster fund of $800 million (€594m).