Heavy rains and floods over the past week have wreaked havoc in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and left 2.5 million people homeless. The flooding, described by officials as the worst in many decades in south India, has killed some 280 people.
Over 50 villages in Andhra Pradesh on either side of river Krishna were inundated as a record 11 lakh cusecs of water reached Prakasam Barrage today even as week-long rains showed signs of abating in north Karnataka but the death toll mounted to 194.
At least five million people are crammed in temporary government shelters. Flood waters swamped millions of acres of cropland, including sugarcane plantations, prompting worries of a fall in sugar output in Karnataka, the country's third-biggest producer.
Rescue workers also moved more than 200,000 people living close to the river. An alert had been sounded in about 100 villages situated along the Krishna. Despite a lull in rains over the last 24 hours, the situation in flood-hit north Karnataka remains grim.
Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa has asked the Centre to declare the unprecedented rainfall and flood situation as a national calamity and has demanded the Centre to release 10,000 crore rupees for relief activities.
The situation has improved in Karnataka. State Chief Minister B.Y.Yeddyurappa announced that his government would construct over 2,00,000 houses for flood affected people.
In Andhra Pradesh, though the flood situation is improving in Kurnool and Mahaboobnagar districts, but hundreds of villages in Krishna, Guntur and Nalgonda are still inundated.
The state Government has announced an exgratia of Rs one lakh to the families of victims and immediate assistance in cash and kind to the families who lost their homes. (With inputs from Agencies)
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