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).

The cost of the monsoon to India so far stands at about $320m, though the figures are expected to rise.

Bihar state, where 1.1 million hectares (2.7 million acres) of farmland have been inundated and 14 million people affected, will be getting $37m (€27m) in the coming days.

Rains appeared to be returning to western states that were hit hard in July and heavy downpours in Gujarat since Monday have killed nine people, a state disaster management official said yesterday,

“In two districts, shifting operations are going on to take people out,” said Aval Kumar Baria.

He said the coastal district of Jamnagar had reported 269 millimetres (10 inches) of rain.

India’s home ministry disaster management division has already reported 1,521 deaths across the country from this year’s monsoon.

The figures do not include scores of people missing from numerous boating accidents, including one in Bihar, which police said killed 65 people on Monday night.

Health fears remain and a UNICEF emergency officer said the agency was working with state officials to conduct medical surveillance and inoculate children against diseases, particularly measles.

In Bangladesh the toll has reached 346 after at least 18 more deaths were reported, said Shafiqul Islam, a spokesman for the country’s food and disaster management ministry.

Kathmandu has seen 95 fatalities since the monsoon started, with more than 330,000 people displaced. The monsoon floods are part of what the World Meteorological Organisation said was a global pattern of record extreme weather conditions since the start of the year. The devastation in India threatens an entire season’s crops in some areas, raising fears of food shortages.

The Dhaka government has urged its citizens and foreign donors to help feed nine million displaced people, while aid agencies and governments say millions of dollars more are needed across south Asia for food and medicine.