About 19 million people, according to latest reports, have been affected by rising flood waters in Assam, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and across the border in Bangladesh as the rain continues incessantly.

Rivers have overflowed their banks and washed away roads, homes and entire villages. The army has stepped in to evacuate people in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

Dengue warnings have been issued. District officials are worried about the possible onset of diarrhea. Desperate people, short of food and shelter, have vented their ire at local authorities for lack of disaster relief. In Muzaffarpur, Bihar, a truck carrying bread was attacked.

Photograph: A villager in Assam transports his mother to safety on a raft through flood waters near the Kaziranga National Park, 285 kms from the state capital Guwahati. Photograph: Biju Boro/AFP/Getty Images

Earlier slide show: The week in news

Next