At least 1,200 deaths and 45 million people affected by one of the worst monsoon seasons in recent years in southern Asia. India, Nepal and Bangladesh are the hardest hit.
The toll arriving from southern Asia is a merciless one, far worse than that recorded in Texas, in the United States, after Hurricane Harvey made landfall. Across India, Nepal and Bangladesh, exceptional monsoon rains have claimed 1,288 lives and affected 45 million people.
For weeks, torrential rains have been battering this area, situated between the Himalayan mountain range and the Indian Ocean, causing floods, destroying homes and infrastructure and leaving dozens of villages cut off. According to Unicef, nearly 16 million children, along with their families, have been affected by the disaster.
"Children have lost their homes, their schools, their friends and their family members. And there is a risk that the worst is yet to come, if the rains continue and floodwaters move southward," says Jean Gough, Unicef Regional Director for South Asia. It is estimated that nearly two million children will be unable to attend school and follow normal lessons for weeks, if not months. "It is essential to ensure education for 1.8 million children to protect them from the risk of child labour, trafficking and early marriage," writes Save the Children.
"We haven't seen this type of flooding in years, and this is putting education at risk for an enormous number of children," said Rafay Hussain, Director General of Save the Children in the state of Bihar.
In Bangladesh alone, more than 8 million inhabitants have been affected by the floods: among them, around 3 million are children. "700,000 homes and 2,292 schools have been damaged or destroyed by the water. And more than 13,000 cases of diseases carried by contaminated water have already been recorded," writes Unicef.
Mumbai Rialway Station. #MumbaiRains pic.twitter.com/jsLMbYcPF4
— Riteish Deshmukh (@Riteishd) 30 agosto 2017
Mumbai, in India, to cite just one example, is submerged in water, as can also be seen in numerous videos posted online. Here, around 60 per cent of the population lives in slums. And here, a great many people have lost everything. "We can't cook, there's no drinking water. The water had risen to our waists. There isn't a single dry thing. The rich are ok, but here we have nothing left," Rajput told the Guardian. The monsoons are said to have affected at least 31 million people across the country.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkkN8drWjLQ
"Around 805,183 homes and 15,455 schools have been partially or completely damaged: nearly one million children currently have no possibility of going to school," Unicef confirms. Meanwhile, in Nepal, 1.7 million people, including 680,000 children, have been caught up in the floods, and 352,738 have been displaced. More than 185,126 homes and 1,958 schools have been damaged or destroyed, putting the education of 253,605 children at risk.