Varanasi was flooded on Friday 13 August, after heavy rains drenched the Indian holy city and the river Ganges burst its banks.

Footage showed motorbikes, bicycles and other items being swept away, as people tried to stand on slightly higher ground.

The Ganges' rise has been fuelled by water level rises in its Yamuna tributary, and that river's own tributaries, the Chambal, Betwa and Ken.

Reports said over 30,000 people were affected by the flooding.

It is just one example of major floods that are hitting India and the world, which scientists say have been made more likely by climate change.

This footage was filmed and produced 13 August 2021.

Heavy rains and rising levels of the Ganges River flooded the holy city of Varanasi. The flood affected many areas of the city. The ghats (river structure) are located under rising water. The main reason for the constant increase in the water level in the Ganges in Kashi is the boom in the Yamuna and its tributaries, the Chambal, Betwa and Ken. The water of the Yamuna reaches Kashi from Prayagraj through the Ganges.

This footage was filmed and produced 13 August 2021.

As the Ganga continues to rise, flood water entered many more localities of the city as well as in the rural belts of the district on Tuesday, affecting the lives of over 30,000 people of 6,000 families.

More than 2,00,000 people have been forced to leave their homes in recent days in eastern Uttar Pradesh as rain-swollen rivers burst their banks.