KATHMANDU: Flooding and landslides triggered by heavy rainfall have killed at least 50 people in Nepal in the past few days, with more deaths reported across the border in India and Bangladesh, officials said on Sunday.

At least 30 other people were missing in Nepal, either swept away by swollen rivers or buried by mudslides since monsoon rains began pounding the region on Friday, Nepal’s National Emergency Operation Centre said.

The centre said nine key highways remained blocked by floods and mudslides, and attempts were under way to open them up for traffic. Among them is the East-West Highway, which connects Nepal’s southern districts.

Rain-triggered floods, mudslides and lightning have left a trail of destruction in other parts of South Asia.

In Bangladesh, at least a dozen people, mostly farmers in rural areas, have been killed by lightning since Saturday as monsoon rains continue to batter parts of the low-lying country, according to officials and news reports.

Water Development Board official Rabiul Islam said about 40,000 people have been affected, mostly due to their homes being submerged under water.

Officials in north-eastern India said at least 14 people were killed and over a million affected by flooding, state official Kumar Sanjay Krishna said. Six deaths were reported in neighbouring Arunachal state.

Published in Dawn, July 15th, 2019