At least 13 people were killed and 500,000 affected by swirling river waters in northern India after neighbouring Nepal released waters from its barrages following monsoon flooding, officials said Sunday, according to dpa. Hundreds of villages across seven districts of Uttar Pradesh state lie in the path of the swollen Rapti and Ghaghra rivers that have their catchment areas in southern Nepal. State relief commissioner Kishan Singh Atoria said the deaths were reported in incidents of landslides, house collapses or drowning in Bahraich, Lakhimpur Kheri and Shravasti districts since Saturday. "Between 400,000 to 500,000 people have been affected in these districts. This number includes people displaced, those stranded in their homes, or those who suffered damage to crops, land or livelihood," he said.
