Record monsoon & floods kill nearly 150 across India (PHOTOS, VIDEOS)

Five days of torrential downpour in India have left at least 148 people dead, as record monsoon rains create the worst flooding conditions the country has seen in decades.

The bulk of the fatalities were reported in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, where 111 are believed to have died in the floods – many by drowning or in building collapses – while several dozen more lost their lives in Bihar, India Today reports. The death toll continues to climb as the rains persist.

Dubbed the “Hikka cyclone,” the storm is India’s largest monsoon since 1994, and has produced record-breaking rainfall, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said – with the city of Mumbai seeing more precipitation than it had in 61 seasons prior.

In the city of Patna, some 4,000 people were rescued from flood-affected areas on Monday, India’s National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) said. Five teams are now conducting search and rescue missions in the city, where homes, schools, hospitals and roads remain submerged in knee-to-waist deep waters.

Some 900 prisoners in Ballia, a district in Uttar Pradesh, had to be shifted to other facilities from the district jail, which sits near the Ganges river, due to extreme flooding.

On Monday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he had coordinated with Bihar state’s chief minister, Nitish Kumar, and that he was ready to provide the region any help needed. Leader of the opposition Indian Congress Party Rahul Gandhi also weighed in on Twitter, calling on fellow party members to “immediately join the relief and rescue work.”

©  AFP / Jignesh Mistry

The storm is now headed westward toward Oman, and is expected to pull away from India sometime next week, the IMD said, however Gujarat, as well as parts of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and other regions will continue to see heavy rains in the days to come.

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