Heavy rains and landslides kill 21 in India
A series of landslides, house collapses and flooding have killed at least 21 people and injured dozens of others in India's remote north-east, officials said today.
A two-day respite from the heavy rains allowed rescue workers to pull three more bodies from the debris in and around Itanagar, the capital of Arunachal Pradesh state, government official Bidol Tayeng said.
Air force personnel used helicopters to rescue the residents of nearly 300 mud and thatch huts that were washed away along the banks of the Dikrong river in Itanagar, he added.
Unexpectedly heavy rains began lashed the area on Thursday and Friday. By today, electricity and water supplies to the area remained cut off, Mr Tayeng said.
In neighbouring Assam state rescuers recovered four bodies after heavy rains flooded 120 villages in the Lakhimpur district where the weather has forced more than 40,000 people from their homes, area Superintendent of Police Ataul Karim said.
The respite from the rain in the last two days means the flood waters have started to recede, allowing some villagers to return to their homes, Mr Karim said.
Assam is prone to flooding. Last year, millions of people were forced to temporarily abandon their homes after floods.
Monsoon rains usually hit India from June to September.
The rains are crucial for farmers whose crops feed hundreds of millions of people, but they also bring massive destruction across the country. Every year, thousands of people are killed by flooding, collapsing houses and other rain-related incidents.
