Monsoon floods strike India

Last week (June 28), I blogged about the floods in Bangladesh.   Now it has been revealed that monsoon floods in India have claimed more than 230 lives.  India’s Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, has described the floods as among the worst of recent years.   In some areas, they are said to me the most severe in more than 60 years.

At least 95 people have been killed, and nearly 2 million made homeless in Assam in the far north-east of the country.   The Brahmaputra river has overflowed, inundating more than 2,000 villages and destroying many homes.

Most of the victims were swept away by the waters, though 16 were reported to have been buried by landslides unleashed by the heavy rains.   Nearly half a million people are now living in relief camps, while some are simply taking shelter on higher ground.

Military helicopters have been dropping drinking water and food, while soldiers are using speedboats to rescue people stranded on rooftops.   The government has announced immediate aid of $90m for the stricken areas.

Ferry disasters

A search is still on for survivors from a ferry that capsized during a storm on the Brahmaputra river in India's Assam state.    At least 103 are believed to have been drowned, and another 100 are still missing.

Police said the ferry broke in two after capsizing, and many of the victims were swept away by the river’s strong currents.    One survivor said he managed to cling on to a log and was then rescued by local people.

Many ferries on the river are considered to have poor safety standards and accidents are common.    According to one police officer, the ferry was overloaded with people and goods, and it carried no lifeboats or life jackets.

Probably the worst ferry disaster, and the worst peacetime maritime disaster ever, was the sinking of the Dona Paz in the Philippines in 1987, in which up to 4,300 people drowned.  (See also my blogs of Aug 7, Sept 6 and 26, Nov 18 and Dec 30, 2009.)