05/09/2014 18:14
Death toll climbs in Asian monsoons
At least 137 people have died in the last few days from flooding caused by intense monsoon-season rains that have been lashing parts of Asia for weeks, CNN reported.
Pakistan's government reported Friday that up to a foot of rain (313 mm) in eastern parts of the country Thursday caused heavy flooding that left at least 56 people dead and 68 injured.
That's up from 40 on Thursday, when the National Disaster Management Authority said many had died from collapsing roofs or electrocution by downed power lines. Thirteen of the deaths were in Lahore, one of Pakistan's most populous cities.
News of the rising death toll in Pakistan came a day after reports out of Indian-administered Kashmir, where 50 people died when a bus carrying a wedding party overturned in a flash flood. They were among 70 killed in Jammu and Indian-administered Kashmir as a result of flooding, Indian officials reported according to CNN sister network CNN-IBN.
In Thailand, the state-run MCOT news agency reported that authorities have urged residents along waterways in the country's central region to move to higher ground. The risk of flooding has increased there after a decision to release more water from a dam to reduce water levels in the flood-hit north, MCOT reported.