Indian floods kill 12, displace 1.6 lakh

The states of Assam and Tripura have been the worst affected by the flooding and landslides triggered by heavy monsoon rains that hit the region on May 31, officials said.

"The flood situation has worsened with nearly 3,000 villages submerged foreign an estimated 150,000 people to take shelter in raised platforms and makeshift tarpaulin tents," Assam Revenue, Relief and Rehabilitation Minister, Bhumidhar Barman, told AFP.

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The minister said four people drowned Tuesday in separate incidents taking the toll in the floods in Assam to seven.

Thousands of people in Assam's worst-hit districts of Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Cachar, Karimganj, and Hailakandi were caught unawares when floodwaters swept through their homes late Tuesday following breaches in embankments and dykes.

"We are providing relief materials like rice and other essentials, besides medicines and healthcare facilities," the minister said.

Government authorities have set up nearly 1,500 makeshift shelters for flood-hit victims, he added.

"All major rivers are flowing menacingly with breaches reported in many places," Cachar district magistrate Gautam Ganguly said by telephone.

Five people have been killed and an estimated 10,000 people displaced by floods in neighbouring Tripura state, officials there said.

"The situation is still very grim and we are taking all measures to provide relief to the affected people," a Tripura government official said.

The latest deaths bring to 152 the number of people killed nationwide in weather related incidents since the monsoon hit India on May 18.

According to the Central Water Commission Wednesday, the Brahmaputra river is flowing above the danger level in at least eight places in Assam.

The 2,906-kilometre (1,816-mile) river -- one of Asia's longest -- traverses China's Tibet region, India and Bangladesh before emptying into the Bay of Bengal.

Every year the monsoon causes the river to flood, submerging paddy fields, washing away villages, drowning livestock and killing people in Assam, a remote state of 26 million people.

In 2004, at least 200 people died and more than 12 million were displaced in the floods.