Hundreds of thousands have been left homeless and at least 18 people have died in a monsoon catastrophe hitting Assam State in India this year.

Christian Aid has stepped in to help the estimated 400,000 people made homeless by the incessant rains, which began last month and are getting worse by the day.

Already, rivers have have burst the banks of rivers, flooding villages and agricultural land across 15,000 hectares throughout Assam.

The worst affected districts are Lakhimpur and Karimganj where more than 300,000 people have had their homes destroyed. In total, 740 villages have been affected. Relief camps have been set up by government authorities and around 22,000 people are taking shelter in them.

Toilet facilities are also under water and the risk of disease spreading throughout the area is extremely high, according to Christian Aid. It has allocated more than £75,000 through its local partner organisation Indo Global Social Service Society to provide emergency assistance. It is distributing shelter materials, including tarpaulin, rope and groundsheets, water filters, aqua tabs, soap and mosquito nets amongst other vital items in the Lakhimpur district this week.

Shivani Rana, emergency programme officer at Christian Aid said: 'We have had to organise a rapid response to this emergency. The numbers of people who need help are enormous and now persistent and very heavy rains are forecast for the coming days so numbers will grow. Villages have been wiped out by the flood water. People need shelter, clean drinking water and food. In the longer term though, we will need to help these people build back their lives.

'Getting access to those who need help is almost impossible because the roads are submerged so we have to rely on our partners' local knowledge and use alternative routes.'

'Monsoons are still ongoing. There are fresh developments every hour,' Rajib Prakash Barua, a senior Assam State Disaster Management Authority official, told AFP news agency. Most people died either because of flooding or electrocution.

Neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh state has also suffered heavy rain and landslides and last week an Indian air force aid helicopter carrying food crashed with no survivors.