South Asia floods make thousands homeless

Heavy floods have forced at least 70,000 people to flee their homes in northeast India and Nepal.

Floodwaters have swamped 100 villages in Assam state, destroying homes and farmland and forcing 50,000 people to the safety of high ground.

And more heavy monsoon rains have been forecast in the next 24 hours in the region, which is one of the country's most flood-prone.

Temporary shelters have been set up for the homeless in schools and government buildings, and rescue workers have used wooden boats to reach those marooned.

Many people have been forced to camp on roadsides under plastic sheets with the few belongings they have managed to salvage.

PC Deka, an official in worst-hit Majuli, in Assam's Jorhat district, said: "Water levels of all rivers are rising and a hundred villages have been completely submerged. Around 50,000 people are badly affected so far."

In neighbouring Nepal, at least 20,000 people have been forced from their homes to shelter in relief camps in the country's southeast after a river broke a dam and flooded six villages.

Local reports said three people were killed but an official said he had no information about the deaths.

TV pictures showed people wading in waist-deep water to higher ground, carrying babies in their arms and balancing their belongings on their heads.

Floods and landslides are common in mountainous Nepal during the annual monsoon season that normally begins in June and continues through to September. About 50 people have died since the rains started this year.

In India, more than 200 people have been killed by monsoon rains in the past month. Most of the deaths were due to houses collapsing or by drowning and landslides.

© Independent Television News Limited 2008. All rights reserved.