The storm known as “Harvey” has left a path of destruction in its wake, dropping 20 trillion gallons of rain on Houston and affecting an estimated 13 million people, according to ABC News.
It’s been a devastating weather event that has affected an estimated $23 billion worth of property and seen 195,000 people register for disaster assistance with the U.S.’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
But Texas isn’t the only part of the world that has coped with devastating floods this year.
WATCH: Over 500 dead in monsoon flooding in India
An estimated 41 million people have been affected by landslides and flooding in South Asia, with an estimated 1,200 killed.
The UN said “torrential monsoon rains” have fallen on people in three countries: India, Nepal and Bangladesh.
“This is the severest flooding in a number of years,” International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies spokesperson Francus Markus told The New York Times.
READ MORE: Monsoon downpour wreaks havoc in Mumbai
As much as one-third of Bangladesh alone is reportedly underwater, and an estimated 114 people have died there.
Almost 2,000 medical teams have been deployed in that country amid concerns about waterborne diseases, such as malaria and diarrhea.
But flooding isn’t the only concern there. UN officials also said they’re worried that flood-related issues have placed women and children at increased risk for sexual harassment, violence and abuse.
Meanwhile, in India, it’s believed that over 600 people have died, with 341 deaths recorded in the state of Bihar alone.
“People have been shaken by the huge flooding,” Hanna Butler, with the International Federation of Red Cross, said of Bihar in an interview with The Independent.
“There was no warning and downpours started one night. People had to escape and fled their homes with only what they could carry. People are on survival mode and they are only thinking about tomorrow but reconstruction will be slow.”
Flood victims in India are being rescued by helicopter and there are flood relief camps for people who’ve been displaced.
More camps are springing up as the area affected by flooding keeps growing.
READ MORE: What Hurricane Harvey-level floods would look like in a Canadian city
Meanwhile, 143 people have died amid flooding in Nepal, where 461,000 people have been displaced and 65,000 homes destroyed, according to the UN.
Nepal has seen its poorest areas become flooded, in places where people live in mud houses and depend on farming for subsistence, The New York Times reported.
The farms they rely on have now been flooded and people have found themselves living under plastic tarps.
“We hope people won’t overlook the desperate needs of the people here because of the disasters closer [to] home,” Markus said.
The Nepal government is working alongside UN agencies and non-governmental organizations to ensure people can obtain food, health care and hygiene kits.
Comments