Landslides and floods kill at least 22 in India

At least 22 people have died in flooding and landslides triggered by heavy rains in remote northeastern India, officials said today, in the second flood tragedy to hit the subcontinent this month.

Rescue workers said 17 people died in the mountainous state of Meghalaya and five in Guwahati, the biggest city in the region. Authorities have deployed hundreds of rescue workers to the area.

Pramod Kumat Tiwari, the head of Assam's Disaster Management Authority, said more than 50 villages were hit by flash floods in the Garo Hills district of Meghalaya.

Earlier this month at least 460 people died in flooding in Indian-controlled Kashmir and Pakistan.

The tea and oil rich state of Assam yesterday reported around 108 mm rainfall. The local metrological office warned of further "heavy to very heavy rainfall" across the region.

Reuters