Death toll reaches 46 in India flooding

LUCKNOW, India — At least 46 people have died and several are missing after floods triggered by heavy rains hit the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, officials said Wednesday.

Rescuers worked through the night to retrieve bodies stuck in debris and to evacuate those in vulnerable areas, said S.A. Murugeshan, secretary of the state’s disaster management. On Tuesday, officials said 22 people were killed by the rains.

The mountainous state has seen incessant rains for the past three days, flooding roads, destroying bridges and causing landslides in which several homes were washed away. The situation has prompted help from more than 2,000 members of the paramilitary and civil police.

The Indian Meteorological Department said the rains were likely to recede in Uttarakhand on Wednesday, but warned of more heavy downpours in the country’s northeastern and southern regions.

Experts say the magnitude of the rains has been staggering. Uttarakhand saw 7 inches of rain in the first few weeks this month, but recorded nearly 22.8 inches within just 22 hours Tuesday, said Bikram Singh, the director of the Meteorological Center in Dehradun, the state’s capital city.

India has seen worrisome rains across several regions this week. Flooding and landslides caused by downpours over the week have killed at least 39 people in the southern Kerala state, which is on high alert for more rains in the coming days.