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In Patna, Bihar’s riverside capital city that is home to around two million people, residents said they were wading through waist-deep water to buy essential items like food and milk.
More than 1,600 people died since June in India due to the heaviest rains in 25 years, according to government data published Tuesday.
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The monsoon season, which typically lasts between June and September, has already delivered 10% more rain than the 50-year average, and is expected to withdraw only after early October, more than a month later than usual.
The extended rains have wreaked havoc, with northern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar states the worst hit in the latest spell of intense downpours, killing 144 people since last Friday, two officials said.
In Patna, Bihar’s riverside capital city that is home to around two million people, residents said they were wading through waist-deep water to buy essential items like food and milk.
Data released by the federal home ministry shows that 1,673 people have died because of floods and heavy rains this year, as of Sept. 29.
Officials said that many of these fatalities were caused due to wall and building collapses, including in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, the western state that has seen 371 flood-related deaths in 2019, the highest in the country.
“The government is not doing any rescue and the situation is very serious here,” he said.
"The danger of old or weak structures collapsing increases during the heavy rainfall, like what happened this time," said Chandrakant Sharma, a flood expert with Uttar Pradesh's disaster relief department.
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