79 die, 2.2 million displaced in India floods

PanARMENIAN.Net - At least 79 people have died and 2.2 million forced to leave their homes over the last week as torrential monsoon rains triggered floods across India's northeast, officials said Monday, July 2.

According to AFP, Assam state, which borders Bhutan and Bangladesh, has been worst hit with the massive Brahmaputra river breaching its banks, while extensive flooding has also hit the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Meghalaya.

The Assam state government said 26 of 27 districts had endured flash floods as heavy rains destroyed thousands of flimsy homes, blocked roads and swamped fields.

"The people of Assam are facing one of the worst floods in recent times that has inflicted considerable damage," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in the state capital Guwahati after touring the area by helicopter.

"The central and state governments are doing everything possible to provide relief to the people," he added.

The Assam government said in a statement that an estimated 2.2 million people had been displaced, with thousands of homes wrecked and more than 500,000 people being sheltered in relief camps.

Officials said more than 70 percent of the Kaziranga National Park, famous for its tigers, one-horned rhinos and elephants, was submerged.