At least 69 people have been killed and 110 others injured in floods and landslides triggered by heavy rains in the Himalayan region of northern India over the past two weeks, officials said Friday.
Dozens of people die each year during the monsoon season due to severe floods and landslides across India, a country of 1.4 billion people.
The overflowing rivers, including the massive Beas River, which originates in the glaciated Himalayas, have disrupted traffic on several roads in Himachal Pradesh.
The "cumulative" death toll includes 69 deaths and 110 injuries in various accidents in the past two weeks, according to a statement from the state's revenue department.
The India Meteorological Department issued a fresh warning on Thursday of "heavy to very heavy rainfall" in Himachal Pradesh and neighboring Uttarakhand, another picturesque Himalayan state popular with Indian tourists.
India's annual monsoon season runs from June to September. It provides relief from the intense summer heat and is crucial for replenishing water supplies, but it also causes widespread death and destruction.
Heavy monsoon rains killed at least 30 people and injured dozens in remote northeastern India in June.
The rains also caused the Brahmaputra River, another major river that originates in the Himalayas, to burst its banks and flow into nearby towns and villages in the Indian state of Assam.
Landslides and flooding were also reported in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, and Manipur, where authorities have called in the Indian Army to assist with relief and rescue operations.
South Asia is experiencing rising temperatures and has witnessed changes in weather patterns in recent years, but scientists are still not entirely sure how global warming is affecting the monsoon.
The monsoon rains began two weeks earlier than usual, the earliest in nearly a quarter of a century, according to meteorologists.
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