Floods kill at least 18 in eastern India:
Official
Published on Oct 26, 2013
3:33 PM
Villagers wading through floodwaters in Banapur village, in Khurda district, in the eastern Indian state of Orissa, on Friday,
Oct 25, 2013. Fresh floods have killed at least 18 people in the same part of eastern India that this month saw the worst
cyclone to hit the country in more than a decade, officials said on Saturday, Oct 26, 2013. -- PHOTO: AP
NEW DELHI (AFP) - Fresh floods have killed at least 18 people in the same part of eastern India that this
month saw the worst cyclone to hit the country in more than a decade, officials said on Saturday.
Torrential rains made rivers spill their banks in India's eastern coastal states of Orissa and Andhra Pradesh,
forcing thousands to flee their homes and seek refuge in shelters, two weeks after India's most severe
cyclone in 14 years lashed the coastline.
"The latest that we know is that 18 have died in total," in both states, Ms Tripti Parule, a spokesman for the
National Disaster Management Agency, told AFP.
Local media reported at least 30 dead from the floods, which have also disrupted train services in both
states.
Some 30 rescue teams, already involved in massive state-wide relief operations to fix homes and restore
services knocked out by cyclone Phailin, have been deployed in the flood zone to give assistance, she said.
"The administration was already geared up for this situation after cyclone Phailin. The provision of dry
food, water packets, medicines... all of it is being taken care of by the states," said Ms Parule, adding she
hoped the flooding would subside in 48 hours.
The cyclone that struck India's eastern coast earlier this month killed at least 22 people and left a trail of
destruction.
It pounded the eastern states, bringing winds of more than 200 kmh, uprooting trees, overturning trucks,
snapping power lines and flooding large tracts of farmland.
Tens of thousands flee India flooding; 39
dead
Published on Oct 27, 2013
6:32 AM
A man rides a motorcycle through a damaged flooded road after heavy rains on the outskirts of the southern Indian city of
Hyderabad on Oct 26, 2013. Days of torrential rains have unleashed floods in southeast India that have killed dozens of
people and forced the evacuation of more than 70,000 others from hundreds of low-lying villages. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
NEW DELHI (AP) - Days of torrential rains have unleashed floods in south-east India that have
killed dozens of people and forced the evacuation of more than 70,000 others from hundreds of lowlying villages.
As of Saturday, 39 people had died in flood-related incidents in Andhra Pradesh and Orissa states since the
rains began on Monday, according to officials quoted by the Press Trust of India. Many drowned when
swept away by surging waters or were killed when weakened walls collapsed onto them.
Hundreds of villages were inundated and crops were being ruined in the so-called Rice Bowl of India.
Railway services have been suspended along routes where tracks were submerged or damaged.
Residents of India's high-tech hub of Hyderabad were wading through knee-deep water surging through
the streets.
The local Disaster Management Department said evacuated residents were sheltering in 178 camps, while
relief workers in boats and helicopters were working to help or rescue hundreds of thousands stranded by
floods that have swamped both coastal and inland regions along rivers.
Both Andhra Pradesh and Orissa were hit two weeks ago by a powerful cyclone that prompted authorities
to evacuate nearly a million people. Cyclone Phailin destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes, many of
them simple huts made of mud, wood and thatch, while causing hundreds of millions of dollars in crop
damage.
India's Meteorological Department on Saturday forecast the rains to continue for at least another day.