Monsoon floods have swamped villages in India's eastern Bihar and northeastern Assam states, forcing more than a million people into makeshift shelters despite the risk of the coronavirus pandemic. Rescue workers used boats to reach people trapped in remote villages on Wednesday (July 22), where many houses have been left under water.

Floods in Assam have killed at least 84 people and displaced more than 2.75 million since May Floods have also inundated the Kaziranga National Park, home to the world's largest concentration of one-horned rhinoceros, with an estimated 2,500 out of a total population of some 3,000 of the animals.

Torrential annual rains are crucial for agriculture in South Asia, but this year India is also grappling with the coronavirus pandemic.

Cases in India surged to 1.16 million as of Tuesday (July 21) morning, including 28,084 deaths, according to government data.

(Source: Reuters)