A woman wades through a flooded village in the eastern state of Bihar, India, Aug. 22, 2017. Cathal McNaughton/Reuters
Because the media is tied up with coverage concerning Hurricane Harvey, few are aware that an even worse natural disaster is taking place in South Asia.
In recent weeks, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Bangladesh have received record amounts of heavy monsoon rains.
The devastating flooding that has followed has killed nearly 1,200 people — including children. Thousands of homes have also been submerged or lost completely, and poor villages have been left with no access to food or medicine.
The conundrum is one that won’t remedy itself, which is why we need to give it attention. As a result of the torrential rains, the country now faces long-term food insecurity due to the amount of farmland that has been ruined.
The U.N.’s World Food Program said in a statement last week, ”Many flood survivors have lost everything: their homes, their possessions, their crops.”
After scrolling through the photos below and becoming more educated on the situation, contact your local news station and urge them to report on it.
You can also help out by donating to the GlobalGiving Foundation, which is working with a number of charities and aid organizations to provide relief to many groups in South Asia.
In Demra, Children Walk Through A Flooded Field As They Return Home From School. The Mix Of Rainwater And Toxic Waste From Industries Has Turned The Water Green | Credit: Suvra Kanti Das/ZUMA/REX ShutterstockNepalis Swim With A Rubber Ring In A Flooded Area In Parsa District | Credit: Manish Paudel / AFP / Getty ImagesIndians Wade Through A Flooded Street During Heavy Rain Showers In Mumbai | Credit: Punit ParanjpeA Nepali Man Carries His Goat On His Shoulder As He Moves To Safer Ground At Topa Village In Saptari District | Credit: Narendra Shrestha / EPA
A Nepali Man Tries To Cross Flood Water At Topa Village In Saptari District | Credit: Narendra Shrestha / EPAA Boy Uses A Banana Raft To Transport His Books In Jakhalabandha Area In Nagaon District, In The Northeastern State Of Assam, India | Credit: Anuwar HazarikaA Man Walks Through A Flooded Street During A Heavy Downpour In The Northeastern Indian State Of Tripura | Credit: Arindam Dey / AFP / Getty ImagesPeople Wait In A Line To Collect Drinking Water From A Municipal Tanker At A Flooded Residential Colony In Ahmedabad, India | Credit: Amit Dave / ReutersA Woman Walks Through A Flooded Village In Motihari, Bihar State, India | Credit: Cathal McNaughtonChildren Raise Their Hand For Biscuit Packets, Being Distributed By Volunteers At A Hastily Constructed Camp In Assam State Where More Than A Million People Have Lost Their Homes | Credit: STRA Bangladeshi Man Sits In His Flooded Shop After Heavy Rain In Dhaka | Credit: A.m. Ahad / APThe Flooded Apron Of Biratnagar Airport After Heavy Rains, 240km From Nepal’s Capital Kathmandu | Credit: gettyimages.co.ukA Man Tries To Cross A Flooded Street In Birgunj, Nepal | Credit: Manish Paudel / APAn Indian Woman Holds A Goat While Sitting On A Makeshift Raft In Koliabor Village In Assam | Credit: Biju Boro / AFP / Getty ImagesPeople Use A Makeshift Raft To Transport Goats As They Wade Through A Flooded Road In Jakhalabandha Area In Nagaon District, In The Northeastern State Of Assam, India | Credit: Anuwar HazarikaA Man Floats His Dead Nephew Away In The Koshi River Outside A Village In Nepal, After The Family Could Not Find Any Dry Land To Bury The Child | Credit: Narendra Shrestha / EPA / REX / ShutterstockCattle Graze As A Woman Walks On Higher Ground In Saptari District, Nepal | Credit: Navesh ChitrakarA Mahout Bathes His Elephant Inside The Flooded Kaziranga National Park In Nagaon District, In The Northeastern State Of Assam, India | Credit: Anuwar HazarikaIndian One-horned Rhinoceroses Wade Through Flood Waters At The Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary In Assam | Credit: Biju Boro / AFP / Getty ImagesRescuers Recover Carcasses Of More Than 225 Animals After Floods Ravage Kaziranga Wildlife Reserve | Credit: Uttam Saikia
