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Death, darkness and dripping roofs in S.Asia floods
28 Jul 2007 10:34:27 GMT
Source: Reuters
GUWAHATI, India, July 28 (Reuters) - Floods have killed at least 14 people in India and Bangladesh, while Indian children were forced to write exams by candlelight and beneath umbrellas as the infrastructure buckled, officials said on Saturday.

Water was spreading around the outskirts of Dhaka, weather officials said on Saturday, and the army was preparing for the possibility of flooding in the Bangladeshi capital's eastern area where about 3 million people live.

The waters have already destroyed or inundated the homes or damaged the crops of more than a million people in northeast India and Bangladesh, officials say.

Five children were playing on a flooded highway in Bangladesh's northern Jamalpur district on Friday when the surging current swept them to their deaths, officials said.

Another five people -- including two children -- drowned in Assam state in India's northeast since Friday while four flood-related deaths were reported in eastern Bihar as heavy rains continued to top up fast-moving floodwaters.

Floods have submerged highways, including parts of India's busy Grand Trunk road, and knocked out telephone and power lines. At least one school in Bihar's Gopalganj district had to hold exams in a dark room with a dripping ceiling.

For the thousands of people stuck in relief camps there was only gloomy news from India's regional weather office, which expects heavy rains to continue for the next few days.

Around 800 people have been killed because of the flooding in this year's monsoon season in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan.


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Last updated:Sat Jul 28 10:35:04 2007