Floods wreak havoc in Assam, 200,000 displaced

October 12th, 2009 LUCKNOW - Flash floods in parts of eastern Uttar Pradesh due to release of water upstream from Nepal have left at least 31 people dead in the past four days, a state government official said Monday. The swirling waters of Sharda and Ghaghra rivers have inundated several parts of Lakhimpur-Kheri, Bahraich, Gonda and Faizabad districts, and threatened other districts downstream.

October 8th, 2009 KATHMANDU - The death toll from flooding and landslides in western Nepal rose to 54 with thousands displaced from their homes, officials said Thursday. The flash floods and landslides were triggered by heavy rains which began Sunday evening and left a trail of destruction as the system moved east across the Himalayan nation.

September 15th, 2009 JAKARTA - At least 12 people were killed and 25 were missing when flash floods swept homes in a district in Indonesia's North Sumatra province Tuesday, the health ministry said. Floodwaters submerged homes in Mandailing Natal district before dawn following heavy rains, said Rustam Pakaya, head of the ministry's crisis centre.

September 15th, 2009 GUWAHATI - Monsoon related floods in some parts of Assam have severely affected villages, destroyed crops and are also posing a threat to wild animals especially on Majuli Island and in the Kaziranga National Park. The world's largest river island Majuli has been severely hit by flood and erosion.

September 1st, 2009 GUWAHATI - The central government Tuesday rejected a unilateral ceasefire offered by the Black Widow separatist group in Assam and instead gave an ultimatum to the rebel group to surrender within 15 days and then begin peace talks. "It was decided to give an ultimatum to the Black Widow, asking them to surrender and lay down arms by Sep 15 and stay in designated camps and then only we would hold peace talks with them," Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said.

August 27th, 2009 GUWAHATI - Experts have claimed that a big earthquake might hit Assam shortly. "There is no accurate method of prediction of earthquake.

August 18th, 2009 UN says 27 die in floods in northwest PakistanPESHAWAR, Pakistan — Flash floods have killed at least 27 people in northwestern Pakistan, and more than 80,000 have seen their homes or crops destroyed, U.N. and government officials said Tuesday.

August 17th, 2009 Floods hit camp holding Sri Lanka's war-displacedCOLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Heavy rains have destroyed or damaged hundreds of shelters housing ethnic Tamils displaced during Sri Lanka's civil war, the United Nations said Monday. The weekend flooding has added to concern over the welfare of nearly 300,000 displaced people who have been living in tents and makeshift shelters since the May defeat by government forces of the Tamil Tigers, ending their 25-year armed campaign for an ethnic homeland.

August 16th, 2009 Heavy rains flood camps for displaced Sri LankansCOLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Heavy rains have caused havoc in camps housing nearly 300,000 people displaced by war in Sri Lanka's war-ravaged north, an official said Sunday. The flooding has raised fears for the welfare of the ethnic Tamils living in tents and makeshift shelters.

July 31st, 2009 COTABATO - At least eight people were drowned and thousands lost their homes in flash floods in southern Philippines, officials said Friday. Five people, including three children, were killed when their home was swept away in a flash flood in Malapatan town in Sarangani province Thursday, Zorahayda Taha, director of the social welfare department, said.

July 6th, 2009 22 die in Vietnam landslides, floodsHANOI, Vietnam — The government says the death toll from landslides and floods in Vietnam's mountainous north has risen to 22. Thirteen other people are still missing after the heavy rains that struck on Friday night.

July 5th, 2009 GUWAHATI - One person was killed and up to 400,000 have been displaced in flash floods triggered by heavy monsoon rains in Assam, officials said Sunday. A government spokesperson said a tribal villager was drowned when his boat capsized late Saturday in South Asia's biggest river island of Majuli in Jorhat district, about 320 km east of Assam's main city of Guwahati.

June 9th, 2009 GUWAHATI - Unidentified militants torched down at least 40 houses belonging to Dimasa tribals in the strife-torn North Cachar Hills district in Guwahati. "A group of gunmen wearing black clothes and helmets struck Diduki and Lailing villages under Maibang and Mahur police stations on Monday night and set huts on fire.

May 28th, 2009 GUWAHATI - One person was killed and thousands were affected as flash floods, caused by the release of water from dam reservoirs in China and Bhutan, submerged low lying areas of three districts in Assam, officials said here Thursday. "Even though there has been no major rainfall after Tuesday night, the water level of the Brahmaputra rose substantially at Dibrugarh in eastern Assam after China released water from their dam reservoirs," said an official of the state revenue, relief and rehabilitation department.

March 12th, 2009 GUWAHATI - Unfavorable weather conditions for tea plantations coupled with global slowdown have badly affected tea exports of Assam. India, the second-largest tea producer in the world experienced a slump by 25 per cent in January 2009.