Death toll from India floods rises to 95, hundreds of thousands evacuated

Members of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) evacuate flood-affected people to a safer place, in Sangliwadi, Sangli district, in the western state of Maharashtra, India.

The death toll from floods in India’s states of Karnataka, Kerala and Maharashtra rose to 95, official figures showed on Saturday, as heavy rain and landslides forced hundreds of thousands to evacuate their homes.

Seasonal monsoon rains from June to September are a crucial lifeline for agrarian Indian society, delivering 70% of the country’s rainfall, but they also bring in their wake death and destruction every year.