Floods leave millions homeless in Asia

About 2.5 million people have been made homeless in India's northeast state of Assam after a second wave of flooding caused by…

About 2.5 million people have been made homeless in India's northeast state of Assam after a second wave of flooding caused by heavy rains over the past three days.

The flooding has affected about seven million people and killed 12 people since Friday. It has washed away thousands of homes, bridges, electricity poles and telecommunications towers - disrupting power and phone networks in many areas.

"This is the worst flood we have ever experienced. The damage caused is unbelievable," Assam's relief and rehabilitation minister said. "Right now we are concentrating on rescue operations, and the army has been called to help us . . . people will find no respite until the rains stop."

Since the annual monsoon rains began in June, about 50 people have been killed in Assam and more than 12 million people affected.

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The second spell of flooding in less than a month has also spread across parts of Bangladesh, killing seven people, and the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan.

Since July, more than 2,000 people in eastern India and neighbouring Bangladesh have been killed by snake bites, drowning, diarrhoea and from houses collapsing.