Dam failure worsens Asian flood misery

12 July 2004


The Assam region of India is said to be the hardest hit with almost all of its rivers flooded as a result of rain that has not let up for two days. The destruction was caused by rising levels of the Brahmaputra river, and has also affected areas of neighbouring Bangladesh and Nepal.

The situation has left more than two million people homeless, say local media reports, and was worsened on Saturday with the breaching of Kurichhu dam on Tsatitsu lake in Bhutan, causing the release of water into rivers which were already flowing at dangerous levels.

The floods are reported to have also left a death toll of over a dozen in Nepal and two in nearby Bangladesh.

As authorities struggle to deal with the situation, Indian ministers are preparing to hold talks about the possibility of building new dams in Nepal to help combat such destructive floods in the future.


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