PATNA: Rising rivers in eastern India swamped new areas and destroyed homes yesterday, affecting more than 2 million people, as some frustrated villagers beat up officials and others remained glued to radio weather bulletins.

Torrential rains have killed more than 1,000 people in South Asia since the monsoon began in June, mainly in India’s states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh but also in Nepal and Bangladesh.

The Kosi River in the eastern state of Bihar, one of India’s poorest regions, has broken its mud embankments in several places. The river also broke a dam in neighboring Nepal, worsening the floods, Bihar officials said. The death toll in the state rose to 42 after 12 more villagers drowned in swirling waters.

“Many villagers are still trapped and stranded at various places and our challenge is to save their lives,” Nitish Mishra, a government official said. Local people call the Kosi the “Sorrow of Bihar” for its regular floods and ability to quickly change course. Thousands of people in the state have taken refuge on embankments, roads and mounds.

“The Kosi River has changed its course and nearly 2-2.5 million people of the areas have been affected,” Nitish Kumar, the chief minister of the state, said after an aerial survey of the flood situation. Some experts blame the floods on heavier monsoon rains caused by global warming.

Last year, floods in eastern India and Bangladesh killed around 2,000 people. Millions were affected and officials fear climate change will make similar disasters more frequent. Others accuse some states of not spending enough money on disaster prevention efforts.

In India’s most populous northern state of Uttar Pradesh, the toll from this year’s floods rose to 721, with four more deaths reported overnight, officials said. Indian authorities warned of more rain in eastern India, including Bihar, with heavy falls in the next 4-5 days.

Angry villagers in Bihar beat up government officials and a politician in flood-hit Araria district near the Nepal border, when they arrived on a factfinding trip. Some people also refused to leave their homes in Bihar and turned rescuers in boats away, officials said. Rising rivers have also swamped 36,400 hectares (89,943 acres) of cropland in the state, as wheat and paddy fields were lying under water.

Seven villages were swept away by the Kosi River in southeast Nepal, where the Kosi broke through the dam, which was built by India to protect Bihar. Nepali officials blame India for failing to carry out necessary repair and maintenance of the dam under an agreement between the two countries.