150 People Drown As Million Fled Homes In Indian Floods

More than 150 people have been killed and more than a million have been displaced due to flooding in India, officials have confirmed.

Near constant torrential downpours during the monsoon in the states of Bihar in the east, Assam in the remote northeast and Himachal Pradesh in the north have damaged roads, telephone cables and uprooted trees.

At least 152 have been killed in three states over the past week, state authorities said on Tuesday, with 34 dead in Assam alone; while more than a million have fled their homes and are sheltering in government-run camps

At least 21 rare one-horned rhinos have been killed due to the flooding of vast tracts of Assam's famous Kaziranga National Park and 80 per cent of the 166-square-mile reserve is underwater.

Pramilla Rani Brahma, the state's forest and environment minister, said: 'Most of the rhinos killed are calves, separated from their mothers during the massive flooding.'

'It is sad that we lost about 17 rhinos in the floods this time, which is something unprecedented,' the minister added.

The park, home to about 2,500 rhinos, draws scores of tourists and was visited by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge during their official tour of India earlier this year.

Eight rare baby orphans have been orphaned by the floods and wildlife groups are calling for donations.

Rathin Barman, deputy director of the Wildlife Trust of India, said they were now struggling to feed and care for the rhinos, aged from one to eight months.

'Some of them are injured and are being treated by our staff in the rescue centre,' he said.

'We are right now hand-raising them, providing them formula milk and essential vitamins. We will release them only after two years,' he added.

There are fears more rhinos would need assistance once waters receded in the park, which has been stripped of vegetation by the floods.

The park had five foot-high floodwaters in some places, forcing many of the park's animals, including wild elephants, wild buffaloes and boars, to cross a highway to move to higher ground.

The heavy monsoon rains have come after two straight years of drought in India.

On Monday, landslides and heavy rains blocked highways leading to Tibet and Manali, a tourist resort in Himachal Pradesh state, with hundreds of people stranded for several hours before rescuers cleared the way, the Press Trust of India news agency said.

In Bihar state, around 260,000 flood victims were taking shelter in more than 400 relief camps set up by the state government. At least 400 medical camps have been set up as well to aid people who have spent several nights outdoors after their homes were submerged by rainwaters.

In Assam, where floodwaters started receding on Tuesday, some 3.8 million people have been affected by the floods, according to state authorities. More than 700,000 have taken shelter in 770 relief camps.

Source: Dailymail