Monsoon rains bring floods, affecting millions across South Asia

India’s financial capital Mumbai recorded 300mm of rainfall on Monday

Intense monsoon storms battered India on July 8, flooding parts of the financial capital Mumbai. AFP

Torrential monsoon rains have triggered floods and landslides affecting millions across India, Bangladesh and Nepal where at least 100 people died since the seasonal rains began in May.

On Monday, heavy rains flooded roads and railways in Mumbai, bringing India's financial capital to a halt. Flights were disrupted and schools were closed.

At least eight people were killed due to floods and incessant rains in India's north-eastern Assam state this weekend. State authorities said 66 people have died in floods and rain-related incidents since May.

About 50 people across Nepal have reportedly died in landslides, floods and lightning strikes since mid-June when the annual monsoon rains started. At least eight have died in Bangladesh.

More than 2.4 million people have been affected across 29 districts after flood waters inundated their homes and destroyed crops in the Assam state with as many as 54,000 being shifted to relief camps where authorities are supplying food and medicines.

Authorities said six of the rare one-horned rhinos in the Kaziranga National Park had drowned due to the floods.

Assam routinely suffers from annual floods but in recent years, climate change-induced deluges have caused widespread havoc in the hilly region.

India's extreme weather patterns have increased in recent years, with intense heatwaves and flooding regularly affecting parts of the country.

On Monday, India’s financial capital Mumbai recorded the highest rain spell when it reported 300mm of rainfall in six hours – between 1 am and 7 am, state deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar said.

“It was almost ten per cent of the total rain the city receives in a year,” Mr Pawar said.

The unprecedented rainfall caused flooding in several parts of the city below sea level. The roads were inundated, halting the traffic movement in the city of 21 million.

Local trains – the backbone of the city – were seriously affected. Over three million commuters use the suburban local train every day.

At least 51 flights were cancelled due to low visibility.

Television footage showed residents wading through waist-deep waters and cars and buses stuck on waterlogged roads.

India’s official weather agency has forecast heavy rains and high tide of 4.40 metres in the coastal city on Monday, forcing schools and colleges to shut as a precaution.

Threats of flooding were also looming over several parts of India’s eastern state of Bihar due to the Koshi River overflowing due to incessant rains in neighbouring Nepal.

The Indian state shares a border with Nepal and every year the mountainous river causes deadly floods in the eastern state.

At least 14 people were killed and nine were missing after heavy rains triggered flash floods across the Himalayan nation on Sunday, police said.

In the capital Kathmandu, several rivers have breached their banks, causing floods and inundating houses in the hilly region.

In neighbouring Bangladesh, eight people were killed in different rain-related incidents over the weekend.

More than two million people have been affected in the country after heavy rain caused major rivers to burst their banks.

In Bangladesh’s worst-hit Kurigram district, eight out of nine rural towns have been cut off by flood water, local disaster and relief official Abdul Hye told AFP.

The country of 170 million people suffers from deluge every year but climate change has caused rainfall to become more erratic and has melted glaciers upstream in the Himalayan mountains.