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Floods and landslides triggered by intense monsoon rains killed at least 50 people in northern and eastern India over the last three days, officials said on Sunday, Reuters reported. The rains overwhelmed hundreds of villages, sweeping away houses and leaving residents stranded as rescue crews have been racing to evacuate survivors.

Farming contributes around 15% to India's $2.7 trillion economy while sustaining more than half the population of 1.3 billion. Heavy showers followed by landslides and flooding in the Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh over the past three days killed at least 36 people, a state government official told Reuters. In the neighbouring mountainous state of Uttarakhand, an official government release said that four were dead and 13 were missing due to continuous rainfall. "We have deployed choppers to rescue people who are stuck in remote areas due to rain related incidents. The rescue operation is happening on full swing," said Ranjit Kumar Sinha, an official in Uttarakhand's disaster management department, according to Reuters. In the eastern state of Odisha, at least six people were dead amid ongoing torrential rains, a state official said. Floods have affected nearly 800,000 people and displaced thousands from their homes in Odisha, with rains disrupting electricity and water supply, and damaging road infrastructure. The state has evacuated 120,000 people so far from the affected areas. Authorities in the Ramgarh district of the eastern state of Jharkhand said five people had been swept away by the waters of the swollen Nalkari river on Saturday. Four bodies have been recovered so far, said Madhvi Mishra, a district official in Ramgarh, Reuters reported.

The Ministry of Health and Population has launched the second phase of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign today targeting children aged 5-12 in 50 districts, out of 77, across the country. According to the Ministry, under the campaign, the target group will be administered the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. The campaign will run until August 27. Ministry joint-spokesperson Dr Samir Kumar Adhikari said the vaccination centers have been set up within the schools. Besides, it is available in Balmandir (children’s home) and prisons. Those children to be incorporated in the campaign will get the second dose from September 12 to 17. Besides, children who are not enrolled at schools will be administered the vaccine upon the showing of proof of age document or their parents/guardian declaring the age of children that will be eligible for taking the shots. The campaign covers Bhojpur, Dhankuta, Khotang, Okhaldhunga, Panchthar, Sankhuwasabha, Solukhumbu, Taplejung, Tehrathum and Udyapur in Province 1, Bara, Rautahat, and Sarlahi in Madhesh Province, Ramechhap, Dolakha, Dhading, Nuwakot, Rasuwa and Sindhupalchowk in Bagmati Province, Baglung, Gorkha, Lamjung, Manang, Myagdi, Parbat, Syangja, and Tanahu in Gandaki, Kapilvastu, Arghakhanchi, Gulmi, Palpa, Pyuthan, Rolpa and Rukum East in Lumbini, Rukum West, Salyan, Dolpa, Humla, Jumla, Kalikot, Mugu, Dailekh and Jajarkot in Karnali and Achham, Doti, Bajhang, Bajura, Baitadi and Darchula for the vaccination.

At least 32 people were killed in south-east Turkey on Saturday when vehicles crashed into first responders who were attending earlier accidents, authorities said, Reuters reported. Sixteen people including emergency workers and journalists died when a bus crashed into an earlier accident site, regional governor Davut Gul from south-eastern province of Gaziantep, said. Another 20 people were wounded and received treatment. “At around 10.45 this morning, a passenger bus crashed here,” Gul said, speaking from the scene of the accident on the road east of Gaziantep. “While the fire brigade, medical teams and other colleagues were responding to the accident, another bus crashed 200 metres behind. The second bus slid to this site and hit the first responders and the wounded people on the ground.” Three firefighters, two paramedics and two journalists were among those killed on the highway between Gaziantep and Nizip, the interior minister, Süleyman Soylu, tweeted. Several of the fatalities were on the bus, he added. The Ilhas news agency said two of its journalists were killed after pulling over to help the victims of the initial accident. Television footage showed an ambulance with severe damage to its rear while a bus lay on its side alongside the highway. Separately, a truck hit a site 250km (155 miles) to the east in the Derik district of Mardin, where first respondents were also attending to an accident, according to footage, according to Reuters. Sixteen people died and 29 others were injured as a result of the incident in Mardin, Turkey’s health minister, Fahrettin Koca, said, adding that eight of the wounded were in a critical condition. Turkey has a poor record of road safety. According to the government, 5,362 people were killed in traffic accidents last year, Reuters reported.

Nepal reported 623 new Covid-19 cases on Friday. According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 1, 621 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which 246 returned positive. Likewise, 3, 324 people underwent antigen tests, of which 377 were tested positive. The Ministry said that no one died of virus in the last 24 hours. The Ministry said that 487 infected people recovered from the disease. As of today, there are 5, 024 active cases in the country.