Dozens have died and millions were left stranded in northeastern India and Bangladesh after the monsoon brought heavy rain and flooding into the region earlier this week.
At least 18 have reportedly been killed, with nine fatalities due to flooding and another nine from lightning strikes. Some parts of the region experienced rainfall totals in excess of two feet in the week prior, causing millions of homes to be submerged in water.
Heavy Rains and Flooding
The monsoon in the region typically brings significant rain, but officials noted that the amount of rainfall this time was not common. Sanjay O'Neil, an official at the meteorological station in Gauhati, the capital of India's Assam state, said that the volume of rainfall has been unprecedented.
Many communities in India and Bangladesh were entirely cut off by the immense flooding with both regions calling on their armies to provide aid to citizens. The majority of area rivers were still rising as of Saturday, as per The Weather Channel.
There were more reports of fatalities later on, with a lightning strike killing 17 people on Saturday in the northeastern Indian state of Bihar, said Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. In the state of Meghalaya, which borders Bangladesh to the south, 24 people lost their lives since June 9 and three are still missing.
A senior official in the region's State Disaster Management Authority, R. Lyngdoh, said that more than 633,000 people have been affected by the floods and noted that authorities will conduct airdrops of essential commodities for certain districts that were cut off by road.
According to CNN, flooding in Bangladesh has submerged roads and highways and isolated entire districts from the rest of the country. The country's State Minister for the Ministry of Disaster Management, Enamur Rahman, said on Sunday that at least two people died due to the flooding.
Massive Evacuations
Rahman noted that a lack of telecommunication services has made it difficult for authorities to fully assess the extent of the damage, particularly in the hard-hit districts of Sylhet and Sunamganj.
About 90% of the region was submerged underwater and was almost entirely isolated from the rest of Bangladesh on Sunday. Nearly six million people in Bangladesh were reportedly displaced due to the massive floods.
Officials said that millions were being provided with food and shelter in temporary relief camps. A senior official in Bangladesh's Sylhet division, Muhammad Mosharrof, said that they were having difficulties establishing communication with some districts.
However, he noted that they were now in touch with everyone, noting that their priority is providing drinking water and food to affected regions. The official added that they were arranging for (some) and trying to transport it using helicopters.
Villagers in Sylhet waded through streets flooded up to their knees with one man standing in the doorway of his flooded shop, where the top shelves were crammed with items in an effort to keep them above water. Rahman noted that up to 100,000 people were already evacuated in the worst-hit districts, including Sylhet, as four million were marooned, the Associated Press reported.
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