Floodwaters that have claimed more than 600 lives across South Asia began receding yesterday as rains slowed in Nepal, eastern India and Bangladesh, but officials warned that an outbreak of waterborne diseases was still possible.

　　"Water levels are coming down in most rivers," said Upendra Sharma, a flood relief official in the eastern Indian state of Bihar, where floods triggered by annual monsoon rains have wreaked havoc for the past month.

　　"But receding waters also bring diseases. We are worried about a possible outbreak of diarrhea and cholera," Sharma said. Stagnant water left behind after the worst flooding become breeding grounds for mosquitoes and bacteria.

　　Five medical teams have been dispatched to the districts in Bihar worst hit by the monsoon deluge, which has claimed at least 631 lives across South Asia, he said.

　　Of those deaths, 356 have occurred in India, 168 were in Bangladesh and 102 in Nepal. Five people have been killed in Pakistan. The Flood Forecast and Warning Center in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, said flood waters receding in the country's northeast were streaming down to central and southern districts, swamping new areas.

　　Rain-swollen rivers crisscrossing the nation have inundated thousands of villages, stranding some 15 million people in their flooded homes for weeks. Dhaka's Inqilab newspaper reported that 28 more people, including children, died on Wednesday in separate incidents of drowning.

　　As the waters receded and communication channels reopened, officials said they received more death reports.

　　In mountainous Nepal, where monsoon rains routinely trigger landslides, officials said the improvement in weather conditions helped them get food, medicine and money to victims.

　　(The Associated Press)