Heavy rain and flooding kill at least 62 in northern India

At least 62 people have died following several days of heavy rain and flooding in Uttar Pradesh, northern India, officials said Monday.

According to the state government, 46 people were injured and more than 1,000 houses were damaged after three days of intense rainfall triggered flooding in several districts.

Authorities closed schools Monday in several areas, including the state capital Lucknow, as rescue teams evacuated residents from flooded locations to safer places. People were advised to avoid unnecessary travel through waterlogged areas and keep away from fast-moving rivers, streams and drains.

Rainfall was expected to decrease from Monday as a weather system over the Bay of Bengal weakened, said Atul Kumar Singh, a senior scientist at the Regional Meteorological Centre in Lucknow. He said light rain could continue in eastern and western parts of Uttar Pradesh through Tuesday.

Flooding also hit Odisha, an eastern Indian state, where more than 75,000 people were evacuated to safer locations, officials said.

In neighboring Nepal, 21 people died in weather-related incidents between Thursday and Sunday, according to the country's disaster management agency. Five people were still missing and another five were injured, while floods and landslides damaged 194 houses.

Nepal is also recovering from devastating floods in August that killed more than 1,400 people and left nearly 6,000 others missing.