India Gujarat floods kill more than 200

  • Published
A handout picture from the Gujarat Information Bureau taken and released on July 25, 2017 from an Indian Air Force helicopter shows villages of Banaskantha district, Gujarat state, surrounded by water due to floods.Image source, AFP
Image caption,

The death toll in Gujarat has doubled over the past two days

Floods in the western Indian state of Gujarat have killed 218 people, government officials have confirmed.

The death toll doubled over the last two days as officials found more than 100 bodies once waters began receding.

Officials estimate that the floods have affected 450,000 people in the state.

This years monsoon rains have affected millions across at least 20 states in India. The north-eastern state of Assam has also seen dozens killed and hundreds of thousands displaced.

The government has announced aid packages for affected areas and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is due to visit Assam on Tuesday.

He has said the aim of his visit is to find a "permanent solution" to the flooding that Assam faces every year.

The Press Trust of India news agency quoted an official as saying that many affected people in Gujarat had begun returning to their villages.

Image source, AFP
Image caption,

Officials estimate that 450,000 people have been affected by the floods in Gujarat

Image source, AFP
Image caption,

The monsoon rains have caused a lot of damage in India