New Delhi, August 3 (RHC)-- Indian officials say the death toll from floods caused by heavy monsoon rains has risen to 100 people, with nearly one million leaving their homes and taking shelter in relief camps.

Most of the fatalities have been recorded over the past week in the eastern State of Bihar, Assam State in the remote northeast. The heavy rains have damaged vast areas of land, toppled trees and snapped telephone cables in scores of districts in the three affected states.

Meanwhile, nearly 260,000 people have taken shelter in over 400 government-run relief camps in Bihar State. And more than 700,000 have also taken shelter in 770 relief camps in Assam where flooding has affected 3.8 million people. The floodwaters reportedly began to recede in the state on Tuesday.

On Monday, landslides and heavy rainfalls closed highways leading to Tibet, leaving hundreds of people stranded for several hours before rescuers managed to clear the way, the Press Trust of India news agency reported. Flooding and landslides triggered by torrential monsoons claim scores of lives every year in India, as well as in neighboring Nepal and Bangladesh.