South Asia is battling torrential monsoon rains which have pounded the region for weeks, causing widespread flooding, killing more than 250 people so far.
At least 81 people have died in flood-prone Bangladesh, where almost one-third of the impoverished nation is under water in one of the worst deluges in recent years.
Since Nepal’s monsoon season began last month, landslides, flooding and lightning have killed at least 131 people and left 48 others missing as incessant rainfall since Sunday inundated parts of the southern plains.
In India’s northeastern state of Assam, the death toll since the start of July has passed 60, with nearly three million people displaced.
In India’s Bihar state, at least nine rivers swollen by heavy downpours in Nepal rose beyond their danger levels and inundated many villages.
Bangladesh officials have warned of an extended disaster.
“The flood has been going on for at least 20 days,” the deputy chief of Bangladesh’s Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre, Udoy Raihan, told AFP news agency, adding that flooding usually lasted two weeks.
“And it is likely [to] continue for another 10 days due to heavy rains in Bangladesh and India.”
The annual monsoon is critical for replenishing water supplies, but also wreaks havoc across vast swaths of South Asia, causing widespread death and damage.
Floods, landslides and lightning strikes between June and September kill hundreds every year in the densely populated region.
Commuters make their way through a waterlogged street after a heavy downpour in Dhaka. Close to one-third of Bangladesh has already been flooded, with forecasts of worse flooding in the coming days. MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFPNearly three million people have been affected in Bangladesh, including more than a million who remain isolated and surrounded by floodwaters, according to its Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief. MOHAMMAD PONIR HOSSAIN/REUTERSOfficials warned that flooding will persist in Bangladesh for the next 10 days. ‘The last time we saw such [a] flood was in 1998. We haven’t seen such dangerous floods since then,’ Sheikh Moslem, 66, told AFP. MOHAMMAD PONIR HOSSAIN/REUTERSNepalese people on the banks of the flooded Bagmati River in Kathmandu. At least 84 people have died in the Himayalan nation as multiple landslides ravaged its hilly districts while incessant rainfall inundated parts of the southern plains. NIRANJAN SHRESTHA/AP PHOTOPeople sit outside their flooded house following heavy monsoon rains in Kathmandu. ‘Rescue and relief efforts are going on and we are on alert for areas at risk,’ Nepal’s National Emergency Operation Centre chief Murari Wasti said. NIRANJAN SHRESTHA/AP PHOTOResidents use buckets to remove water flowing into their house after the Bagmati River in Nepal burst its banks. The government has issued a fresh warning about rising river levels for the next three days. PRAKASH MATHEMA/AFPA young girl walks under an umbrella as heavy rainfall floods Nepal’s Bhaktapur. The IFRC said flooding and landslides have already killed almost 110 people in the country. NARENDRA SHRESTHA/EPAChildren walk past cattle on an embankment in a flooded area in Morigaon district, in the northeastern Indian state of Assam. At the World Heritage Site, Kaziranga National Park, 116 animals have died so far, including nine rare one-horned rhinos. DAVID TALUKDAR/REUTERSA man rows his boat near partially submerged houses in the Morigaon district of Assam. According to news reports, Assam state continues to battle with floods that have left more than three million people displaced and at least 60 dead. EPAVillagers sit under a temporary shelter during rainfall in a flood-affected area in the Morigaon district of Assam. EPAA boy on a makeshift raft makes his way through a flooded area in Assam, India. Many villagers whose homes were not fully submerged said they preferred to stay with their belongings despite the difficult conditions. DAVID TALUKDAR/REUTERS
![Commuters make their way through a waterlogged street after a heavy downpour in Dhaka. Close to one-third of Bangladesh has already been flooded, with forecasts of worse flooding in the coming days. [Munir Uz zaman/AFP]](https://www.aljazeera.com/mritems/Images/2020/7/22/9dcb95838f634feb99d49495404da288_8.jpg)
![Nearly three million people have been affected in Bangladesh, including more than a million who remain isolated and surrounded by floodwaters, according to its Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief. [Mohammad Ponir Hossain/Reuters]](https://www.aljazeera.com/mritems/Images/2020/7/22/9a3a493e3b4c4ae88ff6e8069a521d40_8.jpg)
![Officials warned that flooding will persist in Bangladesh for the next 10 days. 'The last time we saw such [a] flood was in 1998. We haven't seen such dangerous floods since then,' Sheikh Moslem, 66, told AFP. [Mohammad Ponir Hossain/Reuters]](https://www.aljazeera.com/mritems/Images/2020/7/22/9789ac6ce34443d09ce62cb205d25e66_8.jpg)
![Nepalese people on the banks of the flooded Bagmati River in Kathmandu. At least 84 people have died in the Himayalan nation as multiple landslides ravaged its hilly districts while incessant rainfall inundated parts of the southern plains. [Niranjan Shrestha/AP Photo]](https://www.aljazeera.com/mritems/Images/2020/7/22/db6fc4a152bc476eb35e5dd57e306ccf_8.jpg)
![People sit outside their flooded house following heavy monsoon rains in Kathmandu. 'Rescue and relief efforts are going on and we are on alert for areas at risk,' Nepal's National Emergency Operation Centre chief Murari Wasti said. [Niranjan Shrestha/AP Photo]](https://www.aljazeera.com/mritems/Images/2020/7/22/d8fd653ff34f41418dedca04bc3a45b1_8.jpg)
![Residents use buckets to remove water flowing into their house after the Bagmati River in Nepal burst its banks. The government has issued a fresh warning about rising river levels for the next three days. [Prakash Mathema/AFP]](https://www.aljazeera.com/mritems/Images/2020/7/22/957dc4ac7a42402aa8875f66eb3b08e9_8.jpg)
![A young girl walks under an umbrella as heavy rainfall floods Nepal's Bhaktapur. The IFRC said flooding and landslides have already killed almost 110 people in the country. [Narendra Shrestha/EPA]](https://www.aljazeera.com/mritems/Images/2020/7/22/dfdeeeac2bc54528bfd311c7487fca66_8.jpg)
![Children walk past cattle on an embankment in a flooded area in Morigaon district, in the northeastern Indian state of Assam. At the World Heritage Site, Kaziranga National Park, 116 animals have died so far, including nine rare one-horned rhinos. [David Talukdar/Reuters]](https://www.aljazeera.com/mritems/Images/2020/7/22/69f5e79a3a684ea29c802fe9cd54f28d_8.jpg)
![A man rows his boat near partially submerged houses in the Morigaon district of Assam. According to news reports, Assam state continues to battle with floods that have left more than three million people displaced and at least 60 dead. [EPA]](https://www.aljazeera.com/mritems/Images/2020/7/22/254d0949e3e74941a84495b4b15ab6bf_8.jpg)
![Villagers sit under a temporary shelter during rainfall in a flood-affected area in the Morigaon district of Assam. [EPA]](https://www.aljazeera.com/mritems/Images/2020/7/22/9cbd735bd1e243a1bda6ed6ca5887dde_8.jpg)
![A boy on a makeshift raft makes his way through a flooded area in Assam, India. Many villagers whose homes were not fully submerged said they preferred to stay with their belongings despite the difficult conditions. [David Talukdar/Reuters]](https://www.aljazeera.com/mritems/Images/2020/7/22/13f82804c9cd4336b2800b2feee746c2_8.jpg)
