India: At least 74 killed in monsoon floods

Heavy monsoon rains have lashed northern India, killing at least 74 people and destroying dozens of poorly constructed buildings, police said today.

All the deaths were reported from Uttar Pradesh state, one of India’s poorest, and raise the death toll across the country from this year’s monsoon season to more than 300 people.

Monsoon season, which lasts from June to September in India, brings rain vital for the country’s farmers but also massive destruction. Floods, mudslides, house collapses and lightning strikes kill hundreds every year.

“The dead included women and children, as most of the fatalities occurred due to the incidents of houses collapsing,” said state police spokesman Surendra Srivastava.

One of the worst hit places was the Hindu holy city of Varanasi, where 11.5 inches of rain fell in 24 hours.

The deluge caused the walls of one house to collapse, killing nine members of a single family, said Srivastava. Four others were also killed in the city.

Schools in Varanasi and the nearby town of Barabanki were closed and the Ganges River was overflowing in some points, said Atul Kumar Gupta, a senior state official.

Gupta said families would get 100,000 rupees (€1,550) in compensation for victims of the flooding.

In the neighbouring state of Bihar, air force helicopters were called in to airlift supplies to thousands of people who were stranded when a river burst its banks, said disaster management secretary Pratayaya Amrit. A force of 60 soldiers was sent to the area to assist with relief efforts, he said.

Officials at the meteorological department warned of more flooding in the days to come.