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Flooding, landslides kill at least 30 people in N India

Indians wade through flood waters after heavy monsoon rains in Dimapur, Nagaland, on June 28, 2016. (AFP)

At least 30 people have lost their lives in northern India due to heavy flooding and landslides caused by torrential rain, officials say.

The casualties were reported in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand on Friday, and state officials said the worst-hit villages were in the remote mountainous districts of Pithoragarh and Chamoli.

Many people were reportedly trapped under collapsed houses and debris unleashed by the landslides.

The Press Trust of India news agency cited officials as saying that at least 25 other people were missing in seven villages in the easternmost Pithoragarh district, around 510 kilometers (320 miles) northeast of the capital New Delhi.

People walk pass a fallen tree being chopped up on a road after heavy monsoon rains and high winds in the Indian city of Dimapur, Nagaland state,on June 28, 2016. (AFP)

The news agency also reported that about 100 millimeters (some four inches) of rain poured down in two hours, which made the rivers to burst their banks and forced the locals to flee their homes.

Mudslides and floods also blocked roads and pathways in over a dozen places, hampering the movements of rescue teams in the region.

According to the chief of the National Disaster Response Force, O.P. Singh, choppers also failed to fly due to poor visibility in the area.

Back in 2013, the scenic Uttarakhand's heaviest rains in the past 80 years caused monsoon floods and mudslides that killed at least 1,000 people.

The monsoon season in India runs from June to October.


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