(Reuters) – Flooding caused by heavy monsoon rains in two of India’s poorest states has displaced or affected another 8 million people and killed 111 since May, the government said Tuesday, at a time when coronavirus cases are higher there.
The Brahmaputra River in the northeastern state of Assam flows above the “danger level” in many places, while heavy rains that began this week in Bihar in the east will last until Wednesday, authorities said.
Since the start of the monsoon season on June 1, Assam has gained 15% more rainfall than an average of 50 years and Bihar 47% more, according to the country’s weather department.
Flooding in Assam, where at least nine cuckold rhinos have drowned in a flooded national park, have affected 5.7 million people, more than 45,000 of whom are still housed in makeshift relief centres.
In Bihar, flooding has left more than 2.4 million people stranded, some 12,800 of whom live in government shelters, complicating civil servants’ efforts to put into force social estrangement measures to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus in the state.
It has reported more than 41,000 infections, adding 255 deaths from COVID-19 disease, depleting the state’s fitness resources.
“The number of COVID patients in Bihar is higher than expected,” Chandra Prasad, the state’s leading director of public health, told Reuters. “Flooding and COVID are a combined challenge for us.”
Assam, meanwhile, is preparing for a spike in coronavirus infections in mid-September. He has reported more than 33,500 cases, with 86 deaths.
Reporting through Jatindra Dash in Bhubaneswar, Zarir Hussain in Guwahati and Rajendra Jadhav in Mumbai; Editing through Jacqueline Wong
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