DEADLY flooding will persist in Bangladesh for the next 10 days, officials warned Tuesday, as South Asia battles torrential monsoon rains, which have already pounded the region for weeks.

In flood-prone Bangladesh, officials warned of an extended disaster in one of the worst deluges in recent years.

The annual monsoon is critical for replenishing water supplies, but also wreaks havoc across vast swathes of the densely populated region, causing widespread death and damage.

At least 81 people have died in Bangladesh, mostly from drowning, officials said, with almost 3 million people hit by the natural disaster through flooded homes and inundated communities.

In Srinagar, a rural town just outside the capital Dhaka, some villagers fled to evacuation centers while others slept on boats and rafts made out of banana trunks lashed together with ropes to watch over their flooded homes.

In India’s northeastern state of Assam, conditions eased as the death toll since the start of July edged up to 58 people.

Many villagers whose homes were not fully submerged said they preferred to stay with their belongings despite the difficult conditions, and were being given food and water supplies from the government and local aid agencies.

In neighboring Nepal, the government issued a fresh warning about rising river levels for the next three days as rescuers searched for 51 people missing in landslides and floods.

Meanwhile, at least 20 people were killed and several others injured Tuesday in different rain-related incidents in Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province.(SD-Xinhua)