Monsoon floods claim 16 lives in eastern India

Some people were swept away, others died when their mud houses collapsed

A man cycles through a waterlogged street during monsoon season in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India.

A woman is met with heavy rain as she exits the metro station in New Delhi, India.

NEW DELHI, INDIA - AUGUST 2: An homeless with her child sit under heavy rain at Rajiv Chowk on August 2, 2021 in New Delhi, India. Rains continued to lash parts of Delhi NCR , extensive waterlogging and traffic snarls were reported at several places in the city (Photo by Mohd Zakir / Hindustan Times via Getty Images)

A resident rides a boat along a road submerged by floodwaters following heavy monsoon rains in Ghatal, Paschim Medinipur district, India.

Makeshift boats are seen parked next to a petrol pump following heavy rain in Ghatal, Paschim Medinipur district, India.

Commuters wade through a waterlogged street on a rainy day in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India.

Residents swap cars for boats in Ghatal, Paschim Medinipur district, India.

A man sitting on a boat helps a man to navigate his way through floodwaters in Ghatal, Paschim Medinipur district, India.

People sit under a submerged straw hut after the Ganges river banks burst in Allahabad, India.

Residents seek refuge inside their homes as the roads outside remain submerged by floodwaters in India's Paschim Medinipur district.

Monsoon clouds fill the sky as residents in India's Kerala state seek shelter form the rain.

A roadside vendor and motorcyclists take shelter from the rain under a plastic sheet in Noida, a suburb of New Delhi, India.

At least 16 people were killed and a quarter of a million displaced from their homes after heavy monsoon rains lashed eastern India, officials said Tuesday.

The airforce joined rescue efforts.

The latest deaths in West Bengal came a few days after 11 people were also killed in the state as the torrent of water swept away homes and triggered landslides.

Flooding and landslides are common during India's treacherous monsoon season from June to September and cause widespread devastation.

The annual downpours have been worsened by climate change, experts say.

Two river banks were breached and flooding affected at least half a million people in six districts in West Bengal over the past two days, the state's disaster management minister Javed Ahmed Khan told AFP.

Five of the 16 people killed were swept away in the flood and the rest died when their mud houses collapsed, officials said.

Dozens of people were plucked from the rooftop of a submerged building by military helicopters. The rescued included a 100-year-old woman and a nine-month-old baby, Khan added.

Panicked residents had to flee to higher ground after water from a nearby dam was released, causing sudden flooding.

“We fear scores of people are still marooned. Indian Air Force helicopters and disaster management personnel are struggling to rescue them,” he added.

Villager Samir Nandi, 65, said he had “never witnessed such a flood".

“Many people in (my) village took refuge on the roof of the buildings and they are waiting to be rescued.”

Authorities have set up more than 40 relief centres for the displaced in the flood-affected districts, senior state official Harekrishna Dribedi, said.

This year's monsoon, which had earlier inundated the western coast, has claimed the lives of at least 250 people so far.

Last month, at least 200 people died in the western state of Maharashtra after landslides sent torrents of mud onto villages.

The northern Himalayan states, including Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, have also reported several deaths.