South Asia floods kill 1000 and displace 20 million
Aid agencies have launched urgent appeals for help for the victims of the devastating monsoon floods which are hitting northern India, Bangladesh and Nepal.
Almost 20 million people have been forced out of their homes as some of the worst monsoon floods in years cover vast areas of northern India, Bangladesh and Nepal.
More than 1,000 people have been killed or injured by rising waters, and aid agencies say the figure is expected to rise. Many others are trapped in villages at risk from landslides, snakebites and disease. Hundreds of thousands have lost their homes, livestock and fields.
Fourteen million people in India and 7 million in Bangladesh are in urgent need of food, water and medicines. The governments of both countries are trying to deliver supplies.
The United Nations Children's Fund says the scale of the crisis poses an unprecedented challenge to the delivery of aid. And a spokesman for the Red Cross and Red Crescent, Davendra Turq, says people should be prepared for more flooding.
In Nepal, the situation is beginning to improve in one of the worst hit areas, Janakpur.
- Radio New Zeeland: Monsoon floods force millions from their homes
- Wikipedia: 2007 South Asian Floods
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