Monsoon rains bring death and destruction

A stray dog gets help to cross a flooded street in Kolkata, India. Photo / AP

Rescue workers in south Asia are racing to help tens of thousands of people after floods.

Relentless monsoon rains have triggered flash floods and landslides, destroying thousands of houses, farmland, bridges and roads, with fast-flowing waters hampering relief efforts.

Hundreds have perished in recent days in India, Nepal, Pakistan, Burma and Vietnam. In Burma, 46 people have died and more than 200,000 have been affected.

More than 100 people in India and 109 in Pakistan have died. In Vietnam, rescuers were battling toxic mudslides from flood-hit coalmines in the northern province of Quang Ninh.