Flooding kills at least 82 across India, Pakistan and Afghanistan in one week
Assam accounts for 36 of the deaths and more than 650,000 people affected across 11 districts, after very heavy rain in Nagaland sent unusually high flows down the Brahmaputra.
By Abhishek Nair · Environment Reporter, Environment
The short version
- At least 82 people died in heavy rain and flooding across northeastern India, Pakistan and Afghanistan in the week to July 23, 2026.
- Assam recorded 10 deaths in 24 hours and 36 over the week, with more than 650,000 people affected across 11 districts.
- The Assam floods were attributed primarily to very heavy rainfall in Nagaland between July 18 and 20.
At least 82 people have died after heavy rains across northeastern India, Pakistan and Afghanistan over a single week, according to authorities in the three countries. The damage is to farmland, roads and public facilities rather than only to housing, which is the part that determines whether the loss of life stops rising once the water goes down.
India's death toll is concentrated in Assam. Ten people died in the state in the 24 hours to Wednesday, taking the week's total to 36, which the state described as unprecedented devastation for this period. More than 650,000 people were affected by heavy rainfall across 11 districts, according to the state disaster management authority's bulletin.
- 82 — deaths across India, Pakistan and Afghanistan in the week to July 23, 2026.
- 36 — deaths in Assam over the week, including 10 in the preceding 24 hours.
- 650,000+ — people affected across 11 districts of Assam.
- 46 dead, 100 injured — in floods across Nuristan province in Afghanistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan over 72 hours.
The rain fell in one state, the water arrived in another
The most useful detail in the Assam account is the causal one. The floods were caused primarily by very heavy rainfall in neighbouring Nagaland between July 18 and 20, which produced unusually high river flows, according to a state government report. Assam sits on the Brahmaputra and receives the consequences of rainfall that happened upstream in a neighbouring state four days earlier.
That sequencing is not unusual for the Brahmaputra basin, which sees some form of flood damage in most monsoon years. What differs this year is the antecedent condition: a June that delivered 99.5 mm of rain, about 40 per cent below normal and the fifth-driest June since 1901, left less slack in the system before July began.
In Afghanistan and Pakistan, disaster authorities reported at least 46 deaths and at least 100 injuries across Nuristan province and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa over 72 hours. Reuters noted that both countries contribute relatively little to global emissions while ranking among the most exposed to climate change, with intensifying floods, droughts, glacier melt and water shortages putting millions at risk.
Sources — 2 references
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Abhishek Nair
Forests, wetlands, heat and climate adaptation in the Indian states.
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