Torrential monsoon rains have claimed more than 100 lives across India since July, triggering widespread flooding and landslides that have displaced thousands and left entire communities struggling to recover, according to official figures released on Wednesday.
The country’s northeastern state of Assam has borne the brunt of the devastation, with Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma confirming that at least 87 people have died since the onset of the latest wave of monsoon rains.
The worst-hit district, Sivasagar, has recorded 47 fatalities, with vast areas still submerged after rivers overflowed and floodwaters inundated homes, roads and farmland. Authorities have appealed for public donations to support ongoing relief and rehabilitation efforts.
“The devastation here is unlike anything these areas have witnessed before,” Sarma wrote on X. “Material losses can be restored, but no compensation can replace a loved one.”
Images from the affected region showed rescue teams using inflatable boats and makeshift rafts to evacuate stranded residents to safer ground as emergency operations continued.
In southern India, the state of Kerala has also been battered by relentless rainfall. State officials said at least 15 people have been killed, while seven others remain missing after days of intense downpours triggered landslides and caused rivers to burst their banks.
More than 300 relief camps have been established across Kerala, providing shelter to over 10,000 displaced residents as rescue workers continue search and recovery efforts.
Further north, in the Himalayan region of Jammu and Kashmir, at least 31 people have lost their lives following a series of intense cloudbursts and flash floods, according to local authorities.
The annual southwest monsoon is vital to India’s agriculture and water supply, but it also brings recurring disasters. Scientists say climate change is intensifying extreme rainfall events, making monsoons increasingly erratic, unpredictable and destructive across South Asia.
Neighbouring Sri Lanka is also grappling with severe weather linked to the monsoon. Authorities said flash floods and landslides have killed at least eight people since Monday, while around 12,000 residents have been displaced from their homes in the country’s central region.
In a stark contrast highlighting increasingly volatile weather patterns, parts of eastern Sri Lanka are simultaneously facing severe drought conditions, forcing authorities to deliver drinking water by tanker trucks.
The Sri Lankan government has attributed the extreme weather to this year’s El Niño climate pattern, which raises sea surface temperatures across the central and eastern Pacific Ocean and can significantly alter rainfall patterns across Asia. While officials have yet to estimate the economic impact of the extreme weather, a ministerial task force has been established to coordinate mitigation and disaster response efforts.
The latest disasters underscore the growing human and economic toll of extreme weather across South Asia, where climate experts warn that rising global temperatures are increasing the frequency and intensity of floods, landslides and other weather-related emergencies.
