Floods In South Asia Have Killed More Than 1000 People This Summer

Residents walk through floodwaters in Malda, West Bengal, India, on Thursday. The death toll from floods sweeping South Asia has climbed above 1,000, according to news services tracking official tallies.

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Residents walk through floodwaters in Malda, West Bengal, India, on Thursday. The death toll from floods sweeping South Asia has climbed above 1,000, according to news services tracking official tallies.

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Weeks of flooding across Nepal, Bangladesh and India have killed more than 1,000 people, according to news agencies keeping track of official death tolls.

And while waters are receding in some areas, the monsoon season isn’t over. A new round of flooding has brought life to a near standstill in Mumbai, India’s financial center and one of the world’s most populous cities.

Late summer often brings heavy rain, floods and landslides to the region, with deadly consequences.

“Seasonal monsoon rains, a lifeline for farmers across South Asia, typically cause loss of life and property every year between July and September, but officials say this year’s flooding is the worst in several years,” Reuters reports.

Millions of people have been displaced or stranded by the storms, which have stretched on for weeks.

Bystanders look on as floodwaters rage near a house in Kurigram, northern Bangladesh, in mid-August. Tens of millions of people are affected by what aid agencies are calling the region’s worst monsoon disaster in recent years.

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Bystanders look on as floodwaters rage near a house in Kurigram, northern Bangladesh, in mid-August. Tens of millions of people are affected by what aid agencies are calling the region’s worst monsoon disaster in recent years.

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In Bangladesh, the death toll is at least 140, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. More than 700,000 homes have been destroyed, the office says.

So much farmland has been ruined by the monsoon rains that the country faces long-term food insecurity, the U.N.’s World Food Program said last week. The WFP has been feeding more than 200,000 people, according to its statement. “Many flood survivors have lost everything: their homes, their possessions, their crops,” representative Christa Räder said.

Flood victims walk past damaged houses in Itahari, Sunsari district, Nepal, earlier this month. Severe flooding has left tens of thousands of homes totally underwater in the populous southern lowlands of Nepal.

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Flood victims walk past damaged houses in Itahari, Sunsari district, Nepal, earlier this month. Severe flooding has left tens of thousands of homes totally underwater in the populous southern lowlands of Nepal.

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In Nepal, at least 143 people have died, the U.N. resident coordinator says, and more than 460,000 people have been forced to leave their homes. Dozens of people are still reported missing, The Himalayan Times reports. The floodwaters have been receding, the Times reports, but relief efforts are only beginning.

And in India, the U.N. says more than 32 million people are affected by the monsoon floods. Last week, the news service Agence France-Presse, tallying official death tolls across five regions, found 726 victims of flooding and landslides, while Reuters looked at six states and found at least 850 people have died.

Almost 2,000 relief camps have been established, the U.N. says.

Some aid groups active in the region are also responding to the devastating floods in Houston. The challenges are different, Jono Anzalone, the vice president of international services at the American Red Cross, told NPR.

“If you compare the shelter conditions in Bangladesh to Texas, as dire as the condition may seem in Texas, typically, we would at least have safe structures on safe ground — not in flood plains,” he said. “For better or for worse, when people look at the U.S. response system, we have a very mature federal disaster response system … You don’t see that in Nepal, Bangladesh or India. In Nepal and Bangladesh, the government simply doesn’t have the resources.”

Residents affected by flooding navigate high water to collect relief materials in Udaynarayanpur, West Bengal, in eastern India, on Aug. 1. The past few weeks of monsoon flooding have had their most devastating effect on India’s east and north.

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Residents affected by flooding navigate high water to collect relief materials in Udaynarayanpur, West Bengal, in eastern India, on Aug. 1. The past few weeks of monsoon flooding have had their most devastating effect on India’s east and north.

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The past few weeks of monsoon flooding have had their most devastating effect on India’s east and north, as well as neighboring Bangladesh and Nepal.

But over the weekend, relentless rain began falling on Mumbai, on India’s western coast. The resulting floods brought the city’s transportation systems to a standstill.

Several trains have derailed after tracks were washed away, the Hindustan Times reports. The Times of India describes roads “under knee- to waist-deep water for several hours,” filled with abandoned vehicles.

After four days of continuous heavy rain, the city struggled further during high tide on Tuesday, when water couldn’t drain into the sea as usual, the Times of India reports.

Days of heavy rain have left some streets in Mumbai flooded waist-high on Tuesday. India’s financial capital has been brought to a virtual standstill by the widespread floods, and more rain is in the forecast.

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Days of heavy rain have left some streets in Mumbai flooded waist-high on Tuesday. India’s financial capital has been brought to a virtual standstill by the widespread floods, and more rain is in the forecast.

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“Thousands waded through waist-deep water to reach home,” Reuters reported on Tuesday. The wire service continued:

“Floods in 2005 killed more than 500 people in the city. The majority of deaths occurred in shanty town slums, which are home to more than half of Mumbai’s population.

“Unabated construction on flood plains and coastal areas, as well as storm-water drains and waterways clogged by plastic garbage, has made the city increasingly vulnerable to storms.”

There is flooding in a major public hospital, the Times of India reports. Officials have asked that cars outside the city to turn back instead of driving toward the center because waterlogged roads back up traffic and create perilous conditions.

At least five people have died in Mumbai’s floods, according to NDTV.

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Joel Osteen refutes criticism of Harvey response: "Our doors have always been open"

Houston megachurch pastor Joel Osteen is responding to criticism of his response to Harvey’s flooding after he initially did not open Lakewood Church, which can seat at least 16,000, to evacuees.

Lakewood Church posted on Facebook Sunday writing, “Dear Houstonians! Lakewood Church is inaccessible due to severe flooding!” The post received backlash on social media when photos were posted that seemed to contradict those claims. The church, home to one of the largest congregations in the country, says its doors are now open and receiving anyone who needs shelter.

Osteen joined “CBS This Morning” from Houston to address the controversy and discuss what his church is doing to help the city.

“Our doors have always been open. We receive people even as soon as the water started receding,” Osteen said. “We worked with the city constantly. The city set up a shelter about four miles from here that can house 10,000 people, showers, dormitories, kitchens, security, all that. They didn’t need us as a shelter at that point. They wanted us to be a distribution center.”

The George R. Brown Convention Center served as Houston’s main shelter, where about 8,300 people stayed Tuesday night. However, the convention center’s official capacity is 5,000.

“Never dreamed that we’d have so many people needing shelters. When they filled up, they said we need shelters, we started our shelter. But this notion that we would turn people away or that we’re not here for the city — we’ve been here for 60 years doing this,” he said.

The social media backlash centered on photos taken from outside the church which appear to show that the building wasn’t flooded — disputing the church’s Facebook post that it wasn’t open due to flooding. Lakewood Church provided photos to CBS News that the church said shows flooding inside the church.

“None of that is true. There was flooding — if we didn’t have our floodgates out back here, it was within one foot. This building flooded in 2001, the whole bottom floor. It would have been a safety concern at the start,” Osteen said.

“The issue is, we work with the city, they said, ‘Let us be the shelter.’ They said, go to the county, go to the city shelter. So, you know, somebody created a notion that, you know what, we’re not open in time, but they’re not sitting here seeing that the mayor is saying don’t stay on the street – don’t get on the streets, that this building is a safety issue. We’re here to help people,” he said.

The church opened its doors Tuesday and has been serving primarily as a distribution center for supplies to help flooding victims.

“If you need a shelter we could have been a shelter from day one if they wanted that,” Osteen said. “You just have to be here to see that, No. 1, the city runs the shelters, what they need us to do — they asked us for a distribution center and you see hundreds and thousands of volunteers came out.”

Victoria and I care deeply about our fellow Houstonians. Lakewood’s doors are open and we are receiving anyone who needs shelter.

— Joel Osteen (@JoelOsteen) August 29, 2017

Asked how many people they’ve taken in so far, Osteen said, “I don’t know how many. I’ve lost count, but I know there are hundreds, and yesterday we had people bringing supplies and just, you know, we can hardly take any more supplies here but we continue to take people as many as they bring.”

According to the church’s website, it has begun fundraising for Hurricane Harvey victims.

“We’d be raising money for the victims here in Houston — I don’t know how it all works — we’re working with Samaritan’s Purse and different ones, but we’re gonna be here five years from now helping these people,” Osteen said.

Despite the controversy, Osteen says he’s not concerned about how this will affect the perception of his church.   

“Not one bit,” Osteen said. “We know who we are. If you let social media run your life and your ministry, you’ll never do anything. Everybody has critics that’s making a difference. We know we did the right thing for safety, working with the city.”

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