At least 550 people have been killed, and nearly 10 million affected, by prolonged monsoon flooding in Bangladesh, Nepal, and Northeast India, further wounding the region struggling to recover from super-cyclone Amphan in May, the Guardian reports. Bangladesh’s Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief estimates one-third of the country is underwater. Heavy rains are expected through the end of July, making this the longest period of flooding in over three decades, according to United Nations estimates. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, notes the heavy death toll further compounds the humanitarian crisis wrought by COVID-19.

“Forty percent of rural income was coming from urban areas and then suddenly labourers and rickshaw pullers weren’t sending money home,” because of COVID-19 lockdowns said Rezaul Karim Chowdhury, executive director of the Bangladeshi NGO COAST. “Almost a third of the population has dropped under the poverty line. This will have an impact on food security and purchasing power, this is a critical situation we have to overcome.” (The Guardian; Climate Signals resources: Cyclone Amphan, monsoons)