Death toll from India flooding jumps to nearly 100

Indian officials say the death toll from floods caused by heavy monsoon rains has risen to 96 people, with about a million leaving their homes and taking shelter in relief camps.

The fatalities have been recorded over the past week in the eastern State of Bihar, Assam State in the remote northeast as well as Himachal Pradesh State in the north, officials said Tuesday.

The heavy rains have damaged vast areas of land, toppled trees and snapped telephone cables in scores of districts in the three affected states.

The flooding has also killed at least 17 rare one-horned rhinos as vast tracts of Kaziranga National Park in Assam were submerged, said the state’s forest and environment minister, Pramilla Rani Brahma.

“Most of the rhinos killed are calves, separated from their mothers during the massive flooding,” she added.