At least 22 bodies were recovered overnight in flood-ravaged Assam state, taking the death toll in flash floods and mudslides in northeast India in the past week to 184, the Indo-Asian News Service (IANS) reported Tuesday.

A government official said the bodies were found by soldiers engaged in relief and rescue operations from the worst hit Goalpara district, 150 km from the main city of Guwahati.

"The toll is mounting every day with soldiers bringing dead bodies in piles from remote areas," Anil Mazumdar, additional district magistrate of Goalpara, said.

Central Home Minister Shivraj Patil is arriving in Assam for a day's visit Wednesday to assess the damage caused by the unusual flooding.

"We are taking all possible steps to provide food and other relief materials to the flood-hit and we hope the minister's visitwill bring us additional funds to meet the crisis," Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said.

Meanwhile, the overall situation in Assam improved Tuesday as flood waters receded.

The flooding was triggered after waters poured into the paddy-growing district from hills in the neighboring state of Meghalaya following four days of heavy rains in the thickly forested northeast.

Officials said the rains, the worst in a decade to soak the region outside of a monsoon period, was caused by a depression in the Bay of Bengal.

Assam accounted for 177 of the 184 deaths reported from the region, while neighboring Meghalaya accounted for the others.

Of the victims, 137 drowned in separate incidents in Goalpara district while the others died in landslides in Guwahati.

About 40,000 people are still staying in 45 makeshift relief camps in Goalpara, while another 25,000 displaced by the flash floods are living in government camps in other parts of Assam.

Source: Xinhua