[DIPECHO Network] Disaster updates_South Asia's Death Toll From Monsoon Flooding Exceeds 3, 500

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<http://www.disasterpreparedness.icimod.org/viewcontent.php?id=19&keyword=&Start=0&link_id=642351c8c4ff4451d6d6267c91a1027d>South 
Asia's Death Toll From Monsoon Flooding Exceeds 3,500
Source: Bloomberg.com
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601091&sid=aEjTlCrdl1To&refer=india

By Jay Shankar

Sept. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Floods in South Asia have left 3,533 people dead 
from drowning and disease outbreaks, with more rainfall forecast this week 
as the four-month monsoon season heads for its scheduled month-end close.

Most of the deaths occurred due to drowning, diarrhea, snakebites and acute 
respiratory disease in Bangladesh, India and Nepal in the July 30-Sept. 5 
period, the World Health Organization said in a posting on its Web site. 
The floods are the "worst in living memory,'' the United Nations has said.

"Almost three months after rains began, millions of people across 
Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan are still affected by the flooding 
and landslides,'' the United Nations Children Fund said in a statement 
Sept. 21.

About 48 million people in India, a majority in the east and northeastern 
states of Bihar and Assam, 13.3 million in Bangladesh and 2.5 million in 
Pakistan have been affected by the floods, Unicef said.

The Indian government has put the death toll in the southwest monsoon, 
which runs from June to September, at 3,020 and according to the Indian 
Meteorological Department ``isolated to heavy'' rainfall is likely to occur 
in eastern and northern districts of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh states in the 
next two days.

In the state of Assam, 380,070 people are sheltered in 658 relief camps and 
1,234 villages in 26 districts are affected, the government's disaster 
management department said in a release on Sept. 24. As many as 22.6 
million people in 10,804 villages of 22 districts in Bihar state have been 
hit by the floods, India said.

In neighboring Bangladesh, 128,957 people are suffering from diarrheal 
diseases, the WHO said.

In Nepal, "while no major or unexpected outbreaks have been reported, 
common illnesses such as water, food and vector-borne diseases are observed 
in a majority'' of the 47 affected districts, the WHO said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jay Shankar in Bangalore at 
<mailto:jshankar1 at bloomberg.net>jshankar1 at bloomberg.net .

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