Floods in eastern India by Jo Farrow
Eastern states of West Bengal and neighbouring Orissa have been battered by heavy downpours for six days, sparking fresh flooding which has left hundreds of thousands of people marooned. A large number of people continue to remain cut off from the rest of the country after surging river waters, broke through mud embankments and swamped villages.
Railway tracks over a 30 meter stretch between Tindharia and Rongtong in Darjeeling district of West Bengal were left dangling since Wednesday, as loose earth caved, in the following landslide.
In Calcutta, civic authorities have been completely overwhelmed with relief work after the city received 475 mm (19 inches) of rainfall in four days.
The local Meteorological Office expects more rain towards Jharkhand and Orissa over the next couple pf days.
The June-September monsoon rains are vital for the region’s agriculture and economy. It also brings welcome relief after many hot, dry months but every year the rain leaves a trail of destruction and takes the lives of hundreds of people.
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