Heavy Rains Kill 60, Displace Thousands In S/India

Officials and news reports on Monday said 60 people had been killed and thousands displaced after torrential rains lashed three south Indian states.

Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have seen heavy downpours since last Thursday but a majority of fatalities were reported at the weekend.

Disaster management official, P. Balaji, said at least 30 people died in rain-related accidents in Andhra Pradesh, with an equal number still missing.

“Most of the deaths were reported in incidents of house collapses, electrocutions and drownings as buses were washed away.

“58,000 people have been lodged in relief camps set up in four worst-hit districts including Nellore and Kadapa.’’

The rains had eased on Monday but many villages were still cut off from highways with disaster management teams dropping food and water using boats and helicopters.

Two dozen more people died in the neighbouring state of Karnataka where crops over an estimated 500,000 hectares had been destroyed, domestic media reported.

The Times of India daily reported that nine people including four children died in an incident of house collapse in Tamil Nadu’s Vellore district.

Several neighbourhoods in the southern metropolises of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu capitals Bangalore and Chennai were inundated due to the torrential rains.

According to scientists from the Indian Meteorological Department, depression over the Bay of Bengal had caused heavy rainfall in the region.

Tamil Nadu and nearby Sri Lanka were affected by a similar system earlier in November.

Scientists had predicted an increase in annual rainfall over a majority of the South Asian region with increased levels of global warming.