Monsoon flooding and Himalayan avalanche kill over 100 across South and Southeast Asia

Authorities in Uttar Pradesh, a state in northern India, reported that at least 81 people died and 46 were injured following three days of torrential rain. The flooding destroyed over 1,000 houses and forced the closure of schools across the state, including in the city of Lucknow. In Odisha, an eastern state, officials evacuated more than 75,000 people from flood-affected areas. In neighbouring Nepal, the situation was similarly dire, with 21 deaths recorded during the same period and five additional people missing. This added strain to a country still recovering from an earlier disaster—a glacial flood in August that had killed more than 1,400 people.

In a separate incident, an avalanche struck the base camp of Himlung Himal, a 7,126-metre peak in Nepal's Manang district, burying tents beneath approximately 14 feet of snow. Rescue teams recovered four bodies, but twelve people, mainly support staff and kitchen workers preparing for foreign climbing expeditions, remained missing. Continued heavy snowfall complicated the search and rescue operation. According to one mountaineer leading the rescue efforts, some lives could have been saved if teams had not faced delays due to poor weather conditions.

Southeast Asia was simultaneously affected by monsoon rains. In Thailand and Myanmar, at least eight people died in each country. Bangkok, Thailand's capital, experienced inundation for a fourth consecutive day, with water reaching neck height in some areas. In total, over 1.7 million people across 27 Thai provinces were affected by flooding. In Myanmar's Tanintharyi region, between 20 and 30 people remained missing. Residents in Bangkok struggled without electricity and depended on food assistance from others, exemplifying the cumulative impact of the month's extreme weather across the entire region.