By Biswajeet Banerjee The Associated Press
LUCKNOW, India (AP) — At least 62 people have died after days of heavy rain and flooding in northern India’s Uttar Pradesh state, officials said Monday.
The state government said 46 people were injured and more than 1,000 houses were damaged after three days of heavy rainfall caused flooding in several districts.
Schools were closed Monday in parts of the state, including the capital, Lucknow, while rescue teams moved people from flooded areas to safer locations. Residents were advised to avoid unnecessary travel through waterlogged areas and stay away from fast-flowing rivers, streams and drains.
Rainfall was expected to ease from Monday as a weather system over the Bay of Bengal weakened, said Atul Kumar Singh, a senior scientist at the Regional Meteorological Centre in Lucknow. Light rain could continue in eastern and western parts of the state through Tuesday, he said.
Flooding also affected the eastern state of Odisha, where more than 75,000 people were evacuated to safer areas, officials said.
In neighboring Nepal, 21 people died in weather-related incidents from Thursday through Sunday, the country’s disaster management agency said. Five people remained missing and five others were injured, while floods and landslides damaged 194 houses.
Nepal is recovering from devastating August floods that killed more than 1,400 people and left nearly 6,000 missing.
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Associated Press journalists Binaj Gurubacharya in Kathmandu, Nepal contributed to this report.
