September 19^th, 2010

Flooding in India, Nicolas Duncan

Flooding and landslides due to heavy rains in northern India have killed at least 63 people since Saturday; most deaths have been caused by collapsing houses, drowning, and landslides. There have been near 5,000 evacuations from the three worst flooded districts of Uttarakhand state.  The flooding caused by the heavy rains has raised the levels of Uttarakhand’s major rivers above their danger levels, cutting off communication links and blocking highways says disaster-management secretary, Rakesh Kumar. Rescue crews have been called up by the state government in the form of the army and federal emergency crews. Schools and colleges have been canceled for the next three days. The main weather office in Uttarakhand has forecasted heavy rains during the next 24 hours.