- 'Dark day': Victims mourned around the globe on Oct. 7 anniversary
- On attacks anniversary, Israel fights multi-front war
- Mexican mayor murdered days after taking office
- Intensifying to Category 5, Hurricane Milton targets Florida
- Mission to probe smashed asteroid launches despite hurricane
- Biden, Harris mark Oct. 7 with call for Mideast peace
- Dupont set for Toulouse return after post-Olympic holiday
- French rugby bosses tighten discipline after nightmare Argentina tour
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street slips
- Visitors to get rare view of Rome's Trevi Fountain
- Europe's asteroid mission Hera launches despite hurricane
- Man City and Premier League both claim victory in legal case
- Deschamps delight as 'light back on' for Pogba after doping ban
- Biden, Harris urge Mideast peace on Oct. 7 anniversary
- Neeskens, tough midfielder in Cruyff's Ajax and Dutch teams
- UN warns world's water cycle becoming ever more erratic
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street retreats
- Ex-Dutch football star Johan Neeskens dies
- Man Utd battling to improve fortunes, says Evans
- What is microRNA? Nobel-winning discovery explained
- Masood, Abdullah centuries lift Pakistan to 328-4 in first England Test
- Hurricane Milton strengthens fast, threatens Mexico, Florida
- Tunisia's President Saied set for landslide election win
- Barca hoping to return to Camp Nou 'by end of year'
- Trump to open second golf course at Scotland resort in summer 2025
- Super-sub Jhon Duran rewarded with new Aston Villa deal
- US duo win Nobel for gene regulation breakthrough
- Masood hits first ton for four years to power Pakistan to 233-1
- Fritz wins delayed match to reach Shanghai Masters third round
- Naomi Osaka pulls out of Japan Open with back injury
- Weather may delay launch of mission to study deflected asteroid
- China to flesh out economic stimulus plans after bumper rally
- Artist Marina Abramovic hopes first China show offers tech respite
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on US jobs data
- Pakistan 122-1 at lunch in first England Test
- Kazakhs approve plan for first nuclear power plant
- World marks anniversary of Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- 'Second family': tennis stars hunt winning formula with new coaches
- Philippines, South Korea agree to deepen maritime cooperation
- Mexico mayor murdered days after taking office
- Sardinia's sheep farmers battle bluetongue as climate warms
- Japan govt admits doctoring 'untidy' cabinet photo
- Israel marks first anniversary of Hamas's October 7 attack
- Darvish tames Ohtani as Padres thrash Dodgers
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on jobs data
- Family affair as LeBron, Bronny James make Lakers bow
- Cancer, cardiovascular drugs tipped for Nobel as prize week opens
- As Great Salt Lake dries, Utah Republicans pardon Trump climate skepticism
- Amazon activist warns of 'critical situation' ahead of UN forum
- Mourners pay tribute to latest victims of deadly Channel crossing
RBGPF | -1.97% | 58.94 | $ | |
CMSC | -0.2% | 24.65 | $ | |
SCS | -0.7% | 12.88 | $ | |
BCC | 0.48% | 139.569 | $ | |
GSK | 0.06% | 38.845 | $ | |
NGG | -1.28% | 65.66 | $ | |
BCE | -0.33% | 33.6 | $ | |
RIO | -0.13% | 69.61 | $ | |
BTI | -0.02% | 35.284 | $ | |
RYCEF | -1.45% | 6.88 | $ | |
RELX | -0.6% | 46.015 | $ | |
JRI | -0.38% | 13.23 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.09% | 24.79 | $ | |
BP | 0.74% | 33.125 | $ | |
AZN | -0.36% | 77.19 | $ | |
VOD | 0.21% | 9.68 | $ |
19 dead, thousands seek shelter in South Asia monsoon floods
At least 19 people are dead after floods triggered by South Asia's annual monsoon, with a week of relentless rains forcing thousands of people to seek shelter in India.
Floods are common and cause widespread devastation during the treacherous monsoon season, but experts say climate change is increasing their frequency, ferocity and unpredictability.
The toll from flooding and landslides last weekend in Nepal had risen to 14 by Friday, with more than two dozen still missing, according to officials.
"Search and rescue teams are still on the ground," Dhruba Bahadur Khadka, a spokesman for the country's national disaster authority, told AFP on Friday.
Four others were killed after flooding in landslides in India's remote Himalayan state of Arunachal Pradesh near the Chinese border, disaster management authorities there said Thursday.
Authorities in neighbouring Assam state said one person had died in flood waters by Thursday evening, with more than 1,300 villages inundated.
Around 14,000 people had left their homes for emergency shelters, Assam's disaster agency added.
Bangladesh is also on alert after forecasters warned of potential floods in northern districts bordering India.
At least 20,000 families had so far been affected by flooding in low-lying areas around the northern district of Kurigram, authorities said.
"The major rivers in the region are swelling," district administrator Mohammad Rezaul Karin told AFP. "The situation may worsen anytime if the flow from upstream increases."
The Asian Summer Monsoon is essentially a colossal sea breeze that brings South Asia 70-80 percent of its annual rainfall between June and September every year.
It is vital for agriculture and therefore for the livelihoods of millions of farmers and food security in a region of around two billion people.
But it also brings destruction every year in landslides and floods.
A 2021 study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) tracking shifts in the monsoon from the mid-20th century suggested it was becoming stronger and more erratic.
Last year catastrophic monsoon floods put a third of Pakistan under water, damaging two million homes and killing more than 1,700 people.
Bangladesh saw record flooding the same year that killed more than 100 people and cut off seven million others, with relief efforts continuing for months.
M.Thompson--AMWN