18 August 2017 (Hindustan Times) – A humanitarian crisis is unfolding across large areas of South Asia, with more than 16 million people affected by monsoon floods in Nepal, Bangladesh and India, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said in statement in Kathmandu on Friday.

“This is fast becoming one of the most serious humanitarian crises this region has seen in many years and urgent action is needed to meet the growing needs of millions of people affected by these devastating floods,” said Martin Faller, deputy regional director for Asia Pacific, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

“Millions of people across Nepal, Bangladesh, and India face severe food shortages and disease caused by polluted flood waters,” he said.Flood levels have already reached record highs in Bangladesh, according to local authorities. Flooding of major rivers such as the Jamuna has surpassed levels since 1988 – the deadliest floods Bangladesh ever faced.

“More than one-third of Bangladesh and Nepal have been flooded and we fear the humanitarian crisis will get worse in the days and weeks ahead,” Faller said. In Nepal, many areas remain cut off after the most recent floods and landslides on August 11 and 12. Villages and communities are stranded without food, water and electricity. […]Food crops have been wiped out by the floods in Nepal’s major farming and agricultural lands in the south of the country. “We fear that this destruction will lead to severe food shortages,” Dhakhwa said. In India, more than 11 million people have been affected by floods in four states across the country’s north. India’s meteorological department is forecasting more heavy rain in the coming days. Volunteers from Indian Red Cross and Bangladesh Red Crescent are working non-stop along with local authorities to help communities be safe and prepare for worsening floods. [more]

Floods affect 16 million in Nepal, Bangladesh and India: Red Cross

20 August 2017 (India Times) – The north-eastern provinces of India are blessed with immense natural beauty, full of unique flora and fauna. But under the relentless assault of monsoon rains this year, one of Assam’s most visited tourist destination is nothing but a watery graveyard of animals.It’s not just humans who have been affected in Assam. As many as 286 animals have perished due to rising water levels across the state’s several national parks, including nine rhinos, the majority of which drowned when the Brahmaputra was in spate last week and had inundated large swathes of land. Despite rescue efforts, the images below tell their own haunting stories. [more]

14 Chilling Images Of Innocent Animals Getting Displaced By Record Rainfall In Assam This Year

By Hannah Summers

16 August 2017

(The Guardian) – Nearly 250 people have died in the last few days as a result of flooding and landslides that have devastated parts of northern India, Nepal, and Bangladesh.Millions of people have been displaced across the region, and 245 people are recorded to have been killed by collapsed buildings or by drowning.In Nepal, incessant rain has flooded hundreds of villages leaving 110 people dead. The government has come under fire for not responding fast enough to the disaster.As security forces scrambled to rescue those marooned on rooftops and helicopters distributed food and water to the worst-hit districts yesterday, the home ministry spokesman Ram Krishna Subedi said relief supplies were being mobilised as soon as possible. Elephants were deployed to help rescue those stranded following three days of torrential rain, including 700 tourists in the popular town of Chitwan.Across Nepal’s southern border, 13 districts have been hit by severe flooding in the Indian state of Bihar, leaving 41 people dead. [more]

Floods and devastation in India, Nepal and Bangladesh – in pictures

GUAHATI, India, 19 August 2017 (AP) – Rising floodwaters have inundated large parts of a famous wildlife reserve park in northeastern India, killing more than 225 animals and forcing hundreds of other animals to flee, the park director said Saturday.

Around 15 rhinos, 185 deer and at least one Royal Bengal tiger have died in the devastating floods that have submerged almost the entire Kaziranga National Park in Assam state, Satyendra Singh said.

“Carcasses of animals were seen floating in the floodwaters. It’s a heartbreaking scene,” Singh said.

Meanwhile, across northern India and neighboring Nepal and Bangladesh, the death toll from drowning, collapsed houses and landslides triggered by annual monsoon rains climbed to around 578 on Saturday.

Army soldiers and disaster management workers in the three countries have launched mammoth rescue efforts to evacuate and provide food and shelter to the nearly 16 million people affected by the floods in South Asia. […]

At Kaziranga, nearly 80 percent of the 430-square-kilometer (250-square-mile) wildlife park was under water. Some of the animals had crossed a highway and moved to higher land. The Assam government has deployed security guards on the highway to protect the rhinos from poachers, said Singh, the park director. [more]

India wildlife reserve park devastated by monsoon floods

17 August 2017 (Hindustan Times) – There was no let up in the flood situation in Assam, Bihar and north Bengal on Wednesday with more deaths being reported from the states due to the natural calamity.The number of lives lost in the third wave of floods in Assam increased by 11, taking the toll to 39. Around 33.45 lakh [3.345 million] people in 24 of the 32 districts in the state remained affected due to the floods.The number of lives claimed by the floods in Assam so far this year stood at 123, including eight in Guwahati.Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Wednesday left for Delhi to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and apprise him of the preliminary damage caused by the third wave of floods.According to a report by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), Dhubri, with 8.5 lakh [850 thousand] affected people, was the worst hit, followed by Morigaon where 5.1 lakh [510 thousand] people were affected.As many as 2,970 villages were under water and 1.43 lakh [143 thousand] hectares of crop area were damaged, the report said.

The ASDMA said the authorities were running 304 relief camps and distribution centres in 21 districts, where 1,38,648 people had taken shelter. […]Most of the forest areas in the Kaziranga National Park, Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary and Lawkhua Wildlife Sanctuary were under the flood waters, they said.In Bihar, the toll mounted to 72 from 56 on Tuesday and around 73.44 lakh [7.344 million] people in 14 districts were affected by the floods, triggered by incessant rains in Nepal and the northern parts of the state. [more]

No let up in flood situation in Assam, Bihar, north Bengal