Over 100 killed by floods in South Asia

NEW DELHI - Torrential monsoon rains swept away homes and triggered landslides across South Asia, affecting millions of people and claiming more than 100 lives, officials said on Tuesday.

The monsoon is crucial for irrigation and groundwater supplies in the impoverished region, home to a fifth of the world's population, and brings relief after the unforgiving summers.

But the downpours, which stretch from June to September, can turn deadly and have wreaked havoc again this year across India, Nepal and Bangladesh, with people, dwellings and boats in remote low-lying areas washed away.