Millions more have been left homeless, as the annual monsoon season struck with an intensity not seen for years.
While this week’s headlines have been dominated by the devestation caused by Hurricane Harvey in Texas, which has so far killed 18 people, aid agencies said the floods in south Asia have decimated communities, destroyed homes and killed at least 1,200 people.
In Mumbai, India’s financial capital, authorties said at least six people have been killed by the floods, including two toddlers.
A 45-year-old woman and an 18-month old child, members of the same family, died after their home in the northeastern suburb of Vikhroli crumbled late on Tuesday, while a two-year-old girl died in a wall collapse.
Train services resumed slowly and dozens of commuters began walking to work in Mumbai, a city of 20 million people that is home to India’s two biggest stock exchanges and the headquarters of several major companies.
Some low-lying areas remained under water, causing vehicle pile-ups, after the city received nearly a month’s equivalent of rainfall in a single day. Authorities ordered schools and colleges to shut following forecasts of more rain.
“There are several stranded cars and two-wheelers on the roads that we are clearing,” said Amitesh Kumar a traffic police official in Mumbai.
“We are not expecting any major traffic jams as the machinery is geared up and the rain forecast is also not as bad.”
One of the worst affected areas was Bihar, a poverty-stricken state in eastern India, where more than 500 people have been killed.
More than 17.1million people living in 21 of the state’s districts had been affected by the floods, the Straits Times reported.
Anirudh Kumar a disaster management official in Bihar’s capital of Patna, said the region’s farming industry had collapsed and would lead to huge job losses in a state already known for mass unemployment.
In Uttar Pradesh, a state in northern India, at least 109 people have been killed and about 2.5 million directly affected by te floods
In Bangledesh, where at least 134 people have died, more than 10,000 hectares of farmland are estimated to have been wiped out, leaving farmers with nothing.
The monsoon comes after all eyes were turned towards Texas and the ‘unprecedented” destruction caused by Hurricane Harvey over the weekend.
The deadly cyclone has killed 18 people so far and left tens of thousands homeless.
Large parts of Houston, America’s fourth most populous city, remain under several feet of water, with many suggesting it will take years for the city to fully recover.
Damage has been estimated at tens of billions of dollars, making it one of the costliest US natural disasters in history.