Monsoon flash floods in India kill at least 40 as bridges collapse and homes are swept away in devastating landslide
At least 40 people have been killed after Northern India was hit by flash floods and catastrophic landslides.
Unrelenting monsoon rains have engulfed hundreds of villages, triggering devastating landslides that swept away homes, cars and locals.
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The death toll continued to rise over the past three days, while dangerous rescue missions continued across the restricted area.
Two people were killed after strong weather caused a bridge in Kangra, in the state of Himachal Pradesh, to collapse.
Another 36 people died nearby after being swept away by floodwaters, while hundreds were forced to seek shelter in relief camps.
Shocking footage captures the moment an evacuation building collapsed in Shimla after being overwhelmed by a landslide.
Four other people also died and 13 were missing in the neighboring state of Uttarakhand after a heavy cloud of clouds spooked residents.
The area is engulfed by a weather phenomenon, which occurs when extremely large amounts of rain fall in a short period of time.
Officials announced that helicopters had been sent to scour remote areas for survivors as forecasters predicted heavier rainfall.
Authorities in the Ramgarh district of Jharkhand reported five people were swept away by the Nalkari River on Saturday.
Madhvi Mishra district official said four bodies have been recovered so far from the swept river, Reuters reported.
Nearly 800,000 people have been affected by biblical flooding in the eastern state of Odisha, with thousands left homeless.
Indians are also grappling with power outages while navigating roads destroyed by the downpour.
The latest reports show that at least six people have been killed in the devastating floods, while 120,000 people have had to be evacuated from affected areas.
Locals are also struggling to find a water supply when they see relief items being brought in by boat.
Ranjit Kumar Sinha, an official in Uttarakhand’s disaster management department, said: “We have deployed helicopters to rescue people trapped in remote areas due to rain-related incidents. .
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“The rescue operation is in full swing.”
Heartbreaking images show people surveying the damage to their homes and picking up their lives from the rubble.
Other snapshots show damage to infrastructure in northern India, including a flooded bridge and roads ripped apart by intense rain.
Strong winds even uprooted trees and power poles, leaving a trail of destruction after they awoke.
The Indian Meteorological Department forecasts heavy to very heavy rain will continue to fall in the area over the next two days.
At least 20 people were killed in just one day by a doomsday thunder storm in India just last month,
Authorities urged locals to stay indoors after horrific deaths in Bihar state rocked the country on July 26.
Hundreds of people die each year from lightning strikes during the monsoon season in India.
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