Photos: Flooding claims more than 300 lives in India, Myanmar and Pakistan
The death toll from floods in the Indian states of Karnataka, Kerala and Maharashtra is hovering around 150, state authorities said Sunday. Rescue teams are racing to evacuate thousands of people in helicopters and boats and more than 227,000 people are staying in relief camps.
In addition to the lives lost, the number of people forced from their homes stands in the hundreds of thousands after torrential monsoon rain over the past week.
Flooding and mudslides have killed at least 97 people in the states of Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat, according to India Today.
Flooding downpours have also struck northern India with at least 34 deaths reported in the state of Uttarakhand. Many schools remained closed due to the flooding on Tuesday.
In Kerala at least 102 deaths have been reported in the past week with more than 50 others missing, and more than 290,000 people have been affected by the flooding, according to Asian News International.
Flooding forced officials to close the Cochin International Airport in Kerala on Friday morning. After water levels receded, flight operations resumed at midday Sunday.
The airport recorded nearly 410 mm (16 inches) of rain in five days, ending on Sunday morning. An additional 150 mm (6 inches) fell at the airport from Monday into Wednesday.
Similar rainfall totals were recorded in other coastal communities of Kerala and Karnataka.
Nearly 227,000 people are seeking shelter from the flooding in Karnataka, where 61 people have been killed. Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa told Reuters that the flooding was the worst the state had endured in 45 years.
Flooding in the state has submerged several structures at Hampi, a World Heritage Site.
The Indian Navy used helicopters and boats to reach those trapped in their homes in Karnataka last week.
Rescuers help people to cross a flooded area after a landslide caused by torrential monsoon rains in Meppadi in Wayanad district in the southern Indian state of Kerala, India, on August 9, 2019. (REUTERS/Stringer)
The flooding situation is improving in Maharashtra, according to Reuters. However, officials do not anticipate rail services to be restored for more than a week.
India's western coast welcomed a decrease in the coverage and intensity of monsoon rainfall this week, despite some locations continuing to endure flooding.
However, there can still be showers, thunderstorms and localized downpours that disrupt cleanup operations and slow flood waters from receding from northern Kerala to western Maharashtra into this weekend.
Meanwhile, a new monsoon low moved from the Bay of Bengal into eastern India and central India and will threaten more lives and property with flooding across a large swath of India into this weekend.
The storm is expected to spread heavy rain from Madhya Pradesh to Rajasthan before turning northward and bringing downpours to Haryana, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh from Friday into Saturday. There can be an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 300 mm (12 inches) and devastating flooding in the hardest-hit areas.
As the storm tracks westward, downpours can ramp back up across India's western coast during the second half of the week. While not all locations will see flooding rainfall, locations from Kochi to Mumbai should be on alert for potential impacts ranging from flooding and mudslides to travel disruptions.
Heavy monsoon rainfall has also been deadly in Myanmar where more than 60 people have lost their lives in the past week, according to Aljazeera. Monsoon rainfall will continue across Myanmar this week; however, downpours are not expected to be as widespread as last week.
Southern Pakistan has also endured deadly weather with at least 17 deaths reported thus far, according to The National. Drier weather is forecast across southern Pakistan through Thursday, bringing relief from the recent downpours.
Download the free AccuWeather app to stay alert to flood-related warnings.
