Death Toll from Landslides and Floods in Nepal and India Reaches 77

The death toll from landslides and flooding caused by torrential Monsoon rains in Nepal and northern India has climbed to at least 77.

Heavy downpours in Nepal over the past three days have left up to 1,500 people stranded, as heavy tides of water, mud and rocks swept away houses.

The rainfall also damaged roads across the country's western plains near the Indian border, and poor visibility hampered helicopter rescue efforts.

Home ministry spokesman Laxmi Prasad Dhakal told AFP that 36 people have suffered injuries due to the floods and 75 are missing.

"Because of the damage to roads in the area, we can only deliver relief supplies, like tents and medicines, by helicopter," he said.

Power cuts in the Bardiya district further frustrated rescue efforts, and in the neighbouring Banke district, several homes were washed away, causing a number of fatalities.

Banke district official Jeevan Oli said: "We've recovered four bodies, including two children. We're looking for four more people whose hut was swept away last night."

Home ministry spokesman Shanker Koirala told the Press Trust of India that the government evacuated 12,000 people from the Banke and Bardiya districts over the weekend.

India landslides

Meanwhile in India, heavy rains triggered landslides and flooding that have claimed at least 24 lives since Friday. In the Uttarakhand state, seven people were killed in their sleep by a landslide after monsoon rains battered the region this week.

District magistrate Chandresh Yadav told AFP: "Seven people were killed while one woman was pulled alive by rescue workers from the debris of a house which collapsed due to overnight rain."

Rescue operations were launched in the northern Indian state of Bihar after thousands of people were affected by flooding in the region.

Anirudh Kumar, special secretary at the Disaster Management Department, said around 45,000 people have been affected by floods in Darbhanga district alone.