Nearly 400,000 people were marooned by flooding in eastern India after torrential rain that killed at least two and washed away thousands of mud houses, officials said Wednesday. Four districts of West Bengal state were hit and dams were struggling to hold back floodwater, state relief minister Mortaza Hossain said.
"All rivers are in spate because of days of lashing rains," he told reporters in Kolkata, the state capital. "Two people were killed, and roads, cattle and vehicles have been swept away." He said at least 4,000 mud houses were washed away and that relief workers had been sent to check on 400,000 marooned villagers.