24/7 Space News
SHAKE AND BLOW
Death toll mounting from South Asia's devastating monsoon
Death toll mounting from South Asia's devastating monsoon
By Aishwarya KUMAR and Paavan MATHEMA in Kathmandu
New Delhi (AFP) Aug 13, 2024

Torrential storms lashing South Asia have killed hundreds of people since June, official data showed Tuesday, with flooding and landslides causing widespread devastation during the treacherous monsoon season.

Weather-related disasters are common during the monsoon season from June to September, but experts say climate change is increasing their frequency and severity.

The deaths include at least 250 in India, 171 in Nepal and 178 in Pakistan, according to official data in each country.

In India, just months after the country baked in its longest-ever heatwave, according to government weather experts, ferocious rainstorms have triggered widespread flooding and landslides.

The crushing heatwave in May and June saw temperatures in New Delhi match the capital's previous record high: 49.2C (120.5F) clocked in 2022.

Now the heat has been replaced by rains.

India's weather department this week warned of "heavy rainfall" over much of the south and northeastern states.

On Tuesday, rescue teams searched for two missing people after nine drowned when a surge of water smashed through the Una district of Himachal Pradesh state.

Witnesses saw a car being swept away like a toy by the swollen muddy river.

"Several people tried to stop the car...as the current was increasing but the car sped past and soon the car was swept away by the strong current," Rajendra Kumar said.

- Floods in deserts -

Scores of people have died in India this month alone, while 200 people died in the southern state of Kerala last month when landslides hit villages and tea plantations.

In Nepal, 171 people have died since monsoon rains began in mid-June, including 109 people in landslides.

Other deaths have been caused by floods and lightning, according to the disaster authority.

Searches continue in central Nepal's Chitwan district for two buses swept over concrete crash barriers in a raging river on July 12, killing around 50 people.

Ninety-two children are among the 178 deaths across Pakistan since the rains arrived in July, with the collapse of homes the biggest killer, according to the National Disaster Management Authority.

In the north-western province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, mountain villages have been warned of the risk of glacial lake flooding this week as temperatures and humidity climb.

Monsoon rains across the region from June to September offer respite from the summer heat and are crucial to replenishing water supplies.

They are also vital for agriculture, and therefore the livelihoods of millions of farmers and food security for South Asia's nearly two billion people.

India is the world's third-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases but has committed to achieve a net zero emissions economy by 2070 -- two decades after most of the industrialised West.

For now, it is overwhelmingly reliant on coal for power generation.

Pakistan, meanwhile, contributes less than one percent to global greenhouse gases yet is one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change.

In 2022, catastrophic flooding plunged a third of the country underwater, killing over 1,700 people, displacing 33 million and destroying thousands of homes.

strs-pa-ash/pjm/ecl/sn

Related Links
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
When the Earth Quakes
A world of storm and tempest

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
SHAKE AND BLOW
Deadly floods in war-torn Sudan displace thousands
Kassala, Sudan (AFP) Aug 12, 2024
Amna Hussein sat grieving in a disaster relief tent in eastern Sudan, where she fled with her children after deadly floods displaced thousands in a country already reeling from war. "My father died in the floods," Hussein said in Kassala, a state on the border with Eritrea. Sudan has experienced an intense rainy season since last month, with intermittent torrential flooding mainly in the country's north and east. Authorities have not released an updated death toll, but 34 people have died i ... read more

SHAKE AND BLOW
North Korea tour operators hopeful ahead of country's reopening

Meet the two Boeing mission astronauts stuck aboard the ISS

LeoLabs Secures $20M in New Contracts in H1 2024

ISS Crew Conducts Historic Archaeological Survey in Space

SHAKE AND BLOW
NASA to decide stranded Starliner astronauts' route home by end of month

One SpaceX launch scrubbed, another still a go

MSU Professor Receives $1.1M NASA Grant to Enhance Hypersonic Vehicle Design Tools

Northrop Grumman Completes Static Test of Digitally Engineered Rocket Motor

SHAKE AND BLOW
Scientists lay out revolutionary method to warm Mars

Here's How Curiosity's Sky Crane Changed the Way NASA Explores Mars

Mars Express Reveals Ancient Lake Eridania on Mars

NASA Trains Machine Learning Algorithm for Mars Sample Analysis

SHAKE AND BLOW
Shenzhou-18 Crew Tests Fire Alarms and Conducts Medical Procedures in Space

Astronauts on Tiangong Space Station Complete Fire Safety Drill

Shenzhou XVIII Crew Conducts Emergency Drill on Tiangong Space Station

Beijing Unveils 'Rocket Street' to Boost Commercial Space Sector

SHAKE AND BLOW
New Coordination System Allows Satellite Internet and Radio Astronomy to Share the Sky

EQT in Exclusive Talks to Acquire Majority Stake in Eutelsat's Satellite Ground Station Business

AST SpaceMobile Prepares for September Launch with Arrival of First Commercial Satellites at Cape Canaveral

China Launches Initial Batch of Qianfan Network Satellites

SHAKE AND BLOW
Waste into gold: Oyster shells repurposed as magic 'Seawool'

Cleveland-Made Automated Tech Embarks on Space Mission

AFRL Collaborative Automation For Manufacturing Systems Laboratory opens

UCLA Engineers Develop Shape-Shifting Metamaterial Inspired by Classic Toys

SHAKE AND BLOW
UK Space Agency Backs Missions to Study Stellar Influence on Habitable Worlds

Intense Stellar Flares from Red Dwarfs Pose Risks to Exoplanet Habitability

AI Competition Targets Exoplanet Atmospheres

Study Highlights Potential Dangers to Habitable Planets Around Red Dwarfs

SHAKE AND BLOW
Ariel's Carbon Dioxide Indicates Potential Subsurface Ocean on Uranus' Moon

Spacecraft to swing by Earth, Moon on path to Jupiter

A new insight into Jupiter's shrinking Great Red Spot

Queen's University Belfast Researchers Investigate Mysterious Brightening of Chiron

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.