Infections Spread As Toll From Asian Monsoon Hits 2,000

Authorities across south Asia fought outbreaks of diarrhoea and cholera yesterday as international aid began to flow into the region after the worst floods in decades.

Thousands of displaced people returned to their wrecked homes as the death toll south of the Himalayas since the monsoon began in June rose above 2,000.

The annual drenching is thought to have stranded 19 million people in the past two weeks, putting much of a thick band of the subcontinent - from Nepal to the low-lying Bangladeshi delta system - under water.

Although the worst of the weather has abated, storms moved westwards yesterday, submerging parts of India and Pakistan. Karachi was lashed by heavy winds and rains that destroyed houses, flooded streets and killed at least 22 people, officials said.

Since the start of this year's monsoon, wire reports said, more than 1,550 people have died in India, 226 people in neighboring Bangladesh, 92 in Nepal and at least 222 in Pakistan.

In many areas, the rains have left behind pools of stagnant water that international aid groups warned could easily become breeding ground for diseases.

In the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, medical workers have treated more than 1,500 people for diarrhea caused by contaminated drinking water in 22 flood-hit districts. More than 2,000 medical camps have been set up in the state.

Non-governmental groups said the scope of the suffering was greater, with the Uttar Pradesh Voluntary Health Association putting the number of people suffering from waterborne diseases in the state at around 20,000.

"Paramedics visiting affected villages don't have adequate supplies of medicines," said Ramakant Rai, chief of the association. He said that there was also an acute shortage of clean drinking water.

In adjoining Bihar at least 1.1m hectares (2.7m acres) of farmland have been inundated and 14 million people affected. "The situation in Bihar is the most serious and continues to look grim," said Unicef, the UN's children's agency, noting that nearly 132,000 houses had been destroyed and half a million damaged.

About 243,000 people were still living in 1,100 state-run relief camps in India, the country's home ministry said in a statement. Early estimates of the monsoon's cost to India stand at about £160m, though the figure is expected to rise.

Thousands of villages remain under water, threatened by disease, while millions were still displaced in India and Bangladesh and desperate for relief aid. Crops have been ruined and cattle fled from the heavy rain.

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia ordered emergency supplies to be rushed to Bangladesh, with another £25m being sent to cover urgent costs in the disaster zone.

Aid agencies said that it was imperative for governments to act. "The first days after the flood is a crucial time and only governments can motivate large enough resources to deal with such huge natural disasters," said Aditi Kapoor of Oxfam.

Backstory

The subcontinent's wet season lasts from June to September, providing more than 80% of India's rainfall. In Bangladesh, annual flooding can submerge one-fifth of the country each year, but this year 40 out of 64 districts have been affected - 565,000 hectares of farmland and more than 10,000 miles of road submerged. Bangladesh's government reported that at least 35 of the 226 people killed died from snake bites, the second biggest cause of death after drowning. The UN's World Food Program says that 500 million people are regularly affected by floods. Flooding and weather-related disasters make up about 55% to 60% of all global disasters every year.