New Delhi - Floods and landslides caused by heavy rains killed seven people and displaced tens of thousands of villagers in India's north-eastern states since the weekend, officials and reports said Wednesday.

The rains inundated hundreds of villages in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya states forcing thousands of people to take shelter on higher ground, embankments, canals and roofs of buildings.

In Assam, an estimated 150,000 people in 100 villages across the four districts of Lakhimpur, Rangiya, Sonitpur and Baksa were affected by the floods.

"Thousands have been left homeless. But the rains have eased since Tuesday night and rescue work to evacuate stranded people has picked up pace," SR Islam, director of the state's disaster management department, said by telephone.

"This is the third wave of floods to hit Assam as the monsoon season is tapering off," Islam said, adding no deaths were reported in the state.

Two women and three children were killed in rain-related accidents including a house collapse in Meghalaya since October 26, the PTI news agency reported.

A couple was washed away by a fast flowing current of water following heavy rains in Arunachal Pradesh on Monday, the report said.

Officials said heavy rains were triggered by the tropical cyclone Rashmi that hit Bangladesh recently.

"Besides the cyclonic system, the subsequent release of excess water from dams by hydroelectric power companies in Arunachal Pradesh and Bhutan had caused the flooding in the region," Islam said.

India's monsoon season begins in June usually begins to subside by early October.

According to the federal home ministry a total of 2,750 people have died in rain-related incidents across India since the monsoon rains began in June. Nearly 28 million people have been affected in the monsoon-driven floods across 16 states. (dpa)