Twenty one of Assam's 27 districts were hit by floods, triggered by incessant rains over the past fortnight.

The Brahmaputra, among Asia's largest rivers, was overflowing at various places in the state.

"At least 30 people have died in flood-related incidents, five of them drowning after their boat sank in the Goalpara district Thursday evening," the state's Agriculture Minister Nilamoni Sen Deka said.

"Over a million people have been forced to leave their homes as the floods deluged two thousand villages," Deka said over the telephone from state capital Guwahati.

Most of the displaced people were in makeshift shelters on embankments. Many villagers moved to higher ground around their homes. Around 400,000 people were lodged in state-run relief shelters.

Almost every year, monsoon-driven floods cause widespread destruction as overflowing rivers submerge villages and farmland. The monsoon season in India lasts from June to October.

According to the federal Home Ministry, more than 150 people have died during the monsoon season across India so far.

Floods and landslides cause by heavy rain in neighbouring Bangladesh have killed at least 110 people, the Food and Disaster Management Ministry said Thursday.Author: Siddhartha Kumar