Fourteen dead as Nepal monsoon rains cause floods in South Asia | Flood news

At least 14 people were killed when heavy rains triggered flash floods and landslides across Nepal. Disaster teams are currently searching for nine missing people, police said on Sunday.

Floods have also caused major damage in neighboring India and Bangladesh, affecting millions of people.

“The police are working with other agencies and the local community to find the missing people,” said Nepalese police spokesman Dan Bahadur Karki.

People have been killed or are missing in several places, he said.

The monsoon rains from June to September bring death and destruction to South Asia every year, but the number of deadly floods and landslides has increased in recent years.

According to experts, climate change and increased road construction are exacerbating the problem.

Heavy rainfall has been occurring in parts of Nepal since Thursday, prompting the Himalayan state’s disaster management authorities to warn of flash floods in several rivers.

There are reports of flooding from several districts in the lowland regions bordering India.

Last month, 14 people were killed in Nepal in violent storms that caused landslides, lightning strikes and floods.

In India, the northeastern state of Assam has been hit by floods. Six people have died in the last 24 hours, the Assam state disaster management authority said on Sunday.

This brings the death toll from the rains in the state since mid-May to 70, news agency PTI reported.

In low-lying Bangladesh downstream from India, more than two million people were affected by flooding, according to the disaster management agency.

Large parts of the country consist of deltas where the Himalayan rivers Ganges and Brahmaputra flow towards the sea after crossing India.

The summer monsoon provides South Asia with 70–80 percent of its annual rainfall.