Floods submerge Indian homes

STORY: One of the world's largest rivers, the Brahmaputra, which flows into India and neighbouring Bangladesh from Tibet, burst its banks in Assam over the last three days, inundating more than 1,500 villages.

"The entire place looks like an ocean," said Sadanabda Bordoloi, who lives in Nagaon, located in Assam state. He added that it had rained non-stop for days.

Torrential rains lashed most of the rugged state, and the downpour continued on Wednesday (May 18), with more forecast over the next two days.

Cities elsewhere in India, notably the capital, New Delhi, are broiling in a heat wave.