At least 70 people have been killed across India and Nepal after days of intense rainfall triggered widespread flooding and landslides, damaging homes, cutting electricity and communications, and pushing major rivers above danger levels.

At least 56 people have died in India, while Nepal has reported 14 deaths and 11 people missing. Rescue and relief operations were continuing on Sunday as swollen rivers, saturated ground and unstable mountain slopes raised fears of further damage.

Northern India has been among the hardest-hit areas. Uttar Pradesh recorded 66.5 millimetres of rainfall between September 25 and the morning of September 27, compared with a normal 7.6 millimetres for the same period.

The severe weather has damaged more than 1,000 houses and left dozens of people injured. Authorities have deployed rescue teams to waterlogged communities, distributed relief supplies and ordered assessments of crop losses so compensation can be provided to affected families.

Flood conditions have also intensified along major river systems.

India's Central Water Commission reported a “severe situation” at 30 monitoring stations across seven states, with rivers including the Ganga, Gandak, Kosi, Bagmati and Narmada flowing above danger levels in several locations.

Nepal on high alert

Across the border, Nepalese authorities warned that 49 of the country's 77 districts could face flash floods as water levels continued to rise in major rivers and tributaries.

The latest spell of extreme weather has affected critical infrastructure as well as communities.

Power supplies were completely disrupted in Manang, Mustang, Myagdi and Baglung districts, with authorities working to restore electricity.

Flooding along the Rahuganga River also damaged infrastructure and transmission-line towers linked to a 40-megawatt hydropower project, highlighting the vulnerability of mountain energy systems to floods and landslides.

Telecommunications were disrupted in some areas after floodwaters and landslides damaged optical-fibre lines and electricity networks, further complicating communication with affected communities.

Separately, 10 workers were reported missing after an avalanche struck the base camp of Himlung Himal, a 7,126-metre mountain in Manang district, amid persistent rain and snowfall in Nepal's high-altitude regions.

Extreme weather tests regional resilience

The latest disaster again exposes South Asia's vulnerability to intense rainfall, flash floods and landslides, particularly across densely populated plains and fragile mountain regions.

Heavy monsoon rainfall is a natural feature of the region's climate, and no individual flood can automatically be attributed to climate change. However, a warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture, increasing the potential for heavier rainfall when the right weather conditions develop.

Research has increasingly linked global warming with changes in extreme precipitation across many parts of the world, including South Asia, although the scale and pattern of those changes can vary significantly by region and season.

The destruction across India and Nepal also shows how a period of extreme rainfall can quickly develop into a broader infrastructure and economic crisis.

Beyond the immediate loss of life, floods and landslides can damage roads, electricity networks, telecommunications, hydropower facilities, homes and agricultural land, disrupting livelihoods long after floodwaters recede.

Those risks can be magnified by rapid urbanisation, development in flood-prone areas, inadequate drainage, deforestation and construction on unstable slopes.

In the Himalayan region, steep terrain and fragile mountain systems create additional dangers as intense rainfall can rapidly trigger landslides, debris flows and flash floods with little time for communities downstream to respond.

The latest flooding underscores the importance of stronger early-warning systems, climate-resilient infrastructure, improved drainage, safer land-use planning and closer cross-border coordination around rivers and weather hazards.

With river levels still high and further rainfall possible in affected areas, authorities in India and Nepal remain on alert as rescue teams work to reach communities cut off by floods and landslides.