Floods, landslides leave dozens dead in India

At least 40 people died and others were missing in flash floods triggered by intense monsoon rains in northern India over the past three days, officials said Sunday.

The Indian Meteorological Department predicted that heavy to very heavy rain would continue to fall in the region for the next two days.

An official government release Sunday said landslides and flooding in the Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh over the last three days killed at least 36 people.

Disasters caused by landslides and floods are common in India’s Himalayan north during the June-September monsoon season.

Scientists say they are becoming more frequent as global warming contributes to the melting of glaciers there. Last year, flash floods killed nearly 200 people and washed away houses in Uttarakhand.