This monsoon season has claimed the lives of more than 718 people so far, India’s Home Ministry said on Friday (10).
According to the ministry’s National Emergency Response Centre, 170 people died in West Bengal, 171 people lost their lives in Uttar Pradesh, the southern state of Kerala recorded 178 deaths and 139 people died in Maharashtra in incidents related to floods and rains.
While Assam recorded 44 deaths and Nagaland eight, the state of Gujarat saw 52 deaths.
A total of 244 people have received injuries in rain-related incidents and among the 26 people missing, 21 one are from Kerala and the rest from West Bengal.
In Kerala, incessant rains have left nearly 54,000 people homeless after rivers overflowed, resulting in sections of highways being collapsed and homes being swept away.
Five columns of Army were deployed in the state’s seven severely-hit northern districts to help evacuate people and to build makeshift bridges. The Indian Navy's southern command was put on alert after water level in Periyar river rose amid concern that parts of Wellingdon Island in Kochi could be inundated.
In Kerala, about 29 people have been killed in monsoon related incidents since August 8, state officials told news agency Press Trust of India (PTI), adding that a total of 53,501 people are now housed in 439 relief camps across the state.
Meera Syal
Waris Hussein
Actress Varada Sethu with their ACTAs
Waris Hussein (pictured centre with Jean Louis Nancy, left, and Nitin Ganatra)
Cauvery Madhavan for The Inheritance
AA Dhand. The award was collected on Dhand’s behalf by Paul Trijbits , executive director of Virdee, and Kulvinder Ghir
Aakash Odedra and Rani Khanam for Songs of the Bulbul. MN Nandakumara, Sona Datta and Aakash Odedra
Neil Basu for Turmoil: 30 Years of Policing Politics and Prejudice. Kaly Kaul, Neil Basu and Swati Dhingra
Professor Nandini Das, for Courting India: England, Mughal India and the Origins of Empire. Professor Nandini Das, Nimisha Madhvani and Anuja Dhir 
Niraj Chag (pictured left with Raj Ghatak)
Varada Sethu (pictured right with Vikash Bhai)
Shanay Jhaveri for The Imaginary Institution of India: Art 1975-1998 at the Barbican. The award was collected on behalf of Shanay Jhaveri by the Barbican’s Ali Mirza
Bradford 2025 and the Bradford Literature Festival.Julia Randell-Khan from the Bradford Literature Festival and Dan Bates from Bradford, UK City of Culture
Mikhail Sen (pictured right with Ayesha Dharker)
Amit Roy
Nihal Arthanayake
Adam Karim for Guards At The Taj. Adam Karim with Farzana Baduel
Reeta Chakrabarti (pictured with Lord Rumi Verjee, right)
Ram Murali for Death in the Air. Vaseem Khan, Ram Murali and Neil Basu
Professor Partha Mitter.Sundaram Tagore, Prof Partha Mitter and Rithika Siddhartha
Susan Stronge (pictured right, with Richard Blurton)
Soumik Datta (pictured right, with Sangita Myska)
Rishi Nair (pictured centre, with Samir Ahmed, left, and Rishma Dhaliwal)
Meera Syal (pictured right, with Saima Mohsin)
Saachi Sen (pictured left with Darren Henley)
Overview of guests at the annual ACTA ceremony at the May Fair hotel in London 
Justin Bieber faces backlash for ‘I love you’ comment on 17-year-old star Ariana Greenblatt’s post