Flood deaths in India and Nepal cross 150

NEW DELHI: More than 150 people have died in flooding across India and Nepal, officials said on Thursday, as unseasonably heavy rains across the region led to flash floods in several areas, stranding residents and destroying homes and infrastructure.

The north Indian state of Uttarakhand has been especially badly-hit, with 48 confirmed deaths, SA Murugesan, secretary of the state's disaster management department told Reuters.

In Nainital, a popular tourist destination in the Himalayan state, the town's main lake broke its banks, submerging the main thoroughfare and damaging bridges and rail tracks. And rescuers from India's paramilitary National Disaster Response Force were evacuating residents from communities hit by landslides.