Floods in India's Assam force villagers and wildlife to flee

More than three million people have been affected by the annual monsoon deluge as torrential rains pummelled eastern India, officials said Wednesday, with villagers fleeing to higher ground and vast swathes of two wildlife sanctuaries underwater.

India's poorest state Bihar and wildlife-rich Assam have been hit by incessant rains for a week, with swollen rivers bursting their banks and stranding thousands of people in cut-off villages. The floods have also threatened a UNESCO World Heritage-listed reserve that is home to the largest concentration of one-horned rhinos.