At least 40 dead during flooding in central, eastern India
LUCKNOW, India — At least 40 people have died and hundreds of thousands have been evacuated as floods hit vast swathes of central and eastern India in recent days, officials said Monday.
Days of heavy rain have caused the Ganges River and its tributaries to rise above the danger level during the past 48 hours in about 20 districts of the states of Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
Officials said at least 17 people have died in Madhya Pradesh, 14 in Bihar and nine in Uttar Pradesh over the weekend because of drowning, electrocution or injuries from collapsed houses.
In the city of Allahabad, water from the Ganges entered many residential areas, forcing people to move to safer areas. About 12,000 people were evacuated from low-lying surrounding villages, a government statement said.