CNN Headline; says: 'Monsoon rains in South Asia have driven millions from their homes and caused what the United Nations says is the worst flooding in living memory. More than 1,000 people have been killed or injured by rising waters, but aid agencies say the figure is expected to rise sharply. U.N. children's body UNICEF said it had lost track of how many people had been affected by the floods across India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal.So far about 20 million people are known to have fled their homes or trapped in villages at risk from landslides, snakebites and disease.
"Hundreds of thousands have lost their homes, their possessions, livestock and fields and will have to begin their lives from scratch when flood waters recede," UNICEF said.
The devastation comes on the heels of severe flooding in southern Pakistan, caused when Cyclone Yemyin struck the country's provinces of Balochistan and Sindh in late June. India appears to have been hardest hit by the latest inundations with floodwaters striking the densely-populated and poor states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
"According to government estimates, the cumulative number of human casualties stands at 1,103 in 138 affected districts and more than 112,000 houses have been damaged or destroyed though these figures are set to rise as the situation unfolds," UNICEF said. It was not clear whether the casualty figure includes injured as well as dead.
Authorities in Bihar say at least 30 people have died amid the rains and flooding.
