People rush past an excavator clearing a road with a large rock dumping mud and plant debris after intense monsoon rains in Dharmsala, Himachal Pradesh state, India, Sunday, May 21. 8 year 2022.
Ashwini Bhatia / AP
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Ashwini Bhatia / AP
People rush past an excavator clearing a road with a large rock dumping mud and plant debris after intense monsoon rains in Dharmsala, Himachal Pradesh state, India, Sunday, May 21. 8 year 2022.
Ashwini Bhatia / AP
NEW DELHI – At least 40 people have died and others are missing in flash floods caused by intense monsoon rains in northern India over the past three days, officials said Sunday.
Rain flooded hundreds of villages, washed away houses with mud, flooded roads and destroyed bridges in parts of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand states. The Indian Meteorological Department forecasts heavy to very heavy rain will continue to fall in the area over the next two days.
An official government statement on Sunday said landslides and flooding in the Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh over the past three days have killed at least 36 people. Hundreds of people are taking shelter in relief camps after being displaced from their flooded homes.
In the neighboring state of Uttarakhand, a series of clouds that broke out on Saturday left four people dead and 13 missing as rivers crossed their banks and washed away several homes.
Rescue teams are evacuating people trapped in both states.
Disasters caused by landslides and floods are common in India’s northern Himalayas during the monsoon season from June to September. Scientists say they are becoming more frequent as global warming contributes to melt the glaciers there.
Last year, flash floods killed nearly 200 people and swept away homes in Uttarakhand.
