Thousands of hungry and exhausted people waded back to their mud-filled homes from relief camps Tuesday as floodwaters began receding in remote northeastern India.

Nearly half a million people took refuge in camps set up in government buildings as the worst monsoon floods to hit Assam state in a decade devastated the region, killing 95 people and leaving 14 others missing.

Soldiers were using helicopters and speedboats to supply food and drinking water to the nearly 2 million people affected by the floods, which began last week, army Lt. Col. N.N. Joshi said.

With the waters receding, local officials were considering ways to dispose of the rotting carcasses of hundreds of thousands of cattle that perished. Joshi said soldiers and local officials would help bury dead animals to prevent the spread of disease.

In Sonitpur, one of the worst-hit districts, the stench of dead animals was overpowering.