At least 22 people have lost their lives in the north-east of India due to landslides and flash flooding caused by heavy monsoon rains.
In the city of Guwahati in the state of Assam, five people, including three members of the same family, were killed when their homes were engulfed by a mudslide. Across the border in Arunachal Pradesh, seven people died when their vehicle was swept away by floodwaters, and two more people drowned in a separate incident. Eight more fatalities were reported in Mizoram, Tripura and Meghalaya due to floods and mudslides in the past 24 hours. To mitigate the risk of electrocution, Assam authorities disconnected electricity in certain areas, as heavy rains caused flooding in urban parts of Guwahati, resulting in subsequent power outages. According to India’s weather agency, more heavy rainfall is expected in the region. While the annual monsoon season brings relief from the summer heat, it also leads to significant damage, especially in the northeast — a region that is highly vulnerable to climate change. Scientists attribute the increasing unpredictability of monsoons to extreme weather events and global warming, resulting in frequent landslides and flash floods in India’s northern Himalayas.
