Flash floods 'kill 44' in India

At least 44 people have died after flash floods destroyed their homes in northern India, officials say.

Most victims were women, children and old people who were asleep when the floods hit villages in Sitapur district of Uttar Pradesh state.

Heavy rains have been reported from the area for more than 24 hours.

Floods and landslides are common in South Asia during the monsoon season when annual rains combine with melting snow from the Himalayas.

Rain after drought

Officials say at least 38 people died in Sitapur district - about 90km (55 miles) north of the state capital, Lucknow - where there were a number of house collapses caused by the floods.

Millions of people have been affected by the floods

Worst hit was the town of Leharpur, where 15 people are feared killed, development officer Ramesh Mishra said.

Three people died in Lucknow district, and another three in Hardoi district, officials said.

Traffic on several roads in Sitapur has been affected because of the floods, and villagers have been advised to move out of their mud homes.

The BBC's correspondent in Lucknow says that Uttar Pradesh had been suffering a period of drought-like conditions until the latest heavy rains came.

Hundreds of people have died and an estimated 10 million people have been affected by severe monsoon flooding this year in large parts of north-east India, Nepal and Bangladesh.

Many of the flood victims say the disasters - which happen most years during the monsoon season - could be avoided if South Asian governments co-operated in managing water resources.