GUWAHATI, India (Reuters) - Monsoon rains swept across India's remote northeast, forcing hundreds of thousands of villagers from their flooded homes and killing at least 30 people, officials said on Tuesday.
The monsoon arrived at least two weeks early in northernIndia, bringing respite to its baking plains, but in thenortheastern state of Assam it swamped about 500 villages inwaist-deep water, leaving about 300,000 people homeless.
Assam accounts for about 55 percent of India's teaproduction. Officials said the rains had not affected teatrade.
The region reported the first fatalities from the monsoonwith a series of landslides, floods and building collapseskilling at least 30 people since the weekend, officials inAssam and neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh state said.
The casualties included 13 people who drowned in overnightflooding in Assam.
"The (13) deaths were reported from North Lakhimpur town,"an Assam police official said.
Gushing water also washed away portions of highways andbridges at several places in Assam's Lakhimpur district, theworst-hit area.
"The situation turned worse because there has been erosionof embankments at 13 places," said Uken Pegu, an official withthe Water Resources Department in Lakhimpur.
Authorities have set up temporary shelters for thehomeless, but some complained there were not enough.
Many people camped on highways in makeshift shelters withwhatever belongings they could save from the floodwaters.
"Every year people have to suffer and the government wakesup only when there is flooding," said Ramesh Pegu, a studentleader. "There is no long-term rescue and rehabilitation planfor the affected people."
The regional weather office warned of more showers in thenext 24 hours in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.
(Reporting by Biswajyoti Das, Editing by KrittivasMukherjee)
