Relentless Rain and floods kill 45 in India
Pastor Dale Morgan
*Relentless Rain and floods kill 45 in India*
There appears to be no let-up with more rain forecast
Heavy rain and floods have killed at least 45 people in the southern
Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
Officials say up to 56,000 people have been displaced and moved to
relief camps. Most people were killed when flash floods destroyed their
homes.
The strong winds and rain have caused widespread damage, toppling
electricity pylons and communication towers.
The annual monsoon set over southern India earlier this month and more
rain is expected in the region.
The dead included 15 people swept away by a flash flood in Kurnool,
225km (140 miles) south-west of the state capital, Hyderabad.
Some were killed by lightning strikes.
Coast guards were looking for missing fishermen, who went to sea despite
weather warnings, officials said.
I spent the night on my rooftop along with my family after flood water
gushed into my house
Musari Venkateswarlu
Aid officials were distributing food, fresh water and medicine to
people, some stranded on the roofs of houses and buses or up trees.
"I spent the night on my rooftop along with my family after flood water
gushed into my house," Musari Venkateswarlu, a school teacher in
Guntur's Macherla town, is quoted as telling Reuters news agency.
Many of the roads are under water and the relief is being dropped from
the air.
"We have opened up 95 relief camps... for 56,000 displaced people and
also brought in 200 medical teams to contain the spread of water-related
diseases," said Preeti Sudan, disaster management commissioner for
Andhra Pradesh.