HYDERABAD, India, 24 June 2007 — Heavy rains in southern India have claimed over 50 lives and destroyed homes and crops, with the army called out yesterday in Andhra Pradesh, even as many states eagerly awaited the annual monsoon.
Andhra Pradesh was the worst hit by heavy showers and flash floods, with 45 people already dead and tens of thousands losing their homes. Another 13 people lost their lives in Kerala due to rains and landslides since Thursday.
It also rained heavily in Orissa and in parts of Karnataka and Maharashtra yesterday. But the monsoon is yet to reach most parts of the country’s north and west, where many states continued to suffer a severe summer.
The national capital was partly cloudy, and the weatherman predicted rain and thundershowers by this evening. The maximum temperature was 37 degrees Celsius — 3 degrees below normal.
Widespread rains are also expected in Maharashtra, including Mumbai, Goa, Gujarat and coastal Karnataka as the annual southwest monsoon advances further.
Andhra Pradesh bore the brunt of the monsoon fury.
Kurnool district alone saw 21 deaths. Indian soldiers were called in yesterday to help civil authorities in rescue and relief operations.
Two helicopters were used to ferry relief material to Kurnool and Guntur district. About 4,000 food packets and 140,000 water sachets were to be dropped on the towns and villages that have become inaccessible by road.
Dozens of towns and villages were inundated across Andhra Pradesh, especially in the coastal areas. The authorities rescued about 40 people trapped in vehicles in swirling waters. District authorities evacuated hundreds from low-lying areas along the banks of Krishna and Godavari rivers.
The authorities have opened 95 relief camps, including 51 in Kurnool, to provide shelter to 56,000 homeless people.
The incessant rain since Thursday and flash floods damaged paddy nurseries. Strong gales uprooted trees, power and communication poles, snapping electricity supply to many towns and villages. Road and rail traffic were badly hit.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy announced a compensation of Rs.200,000 to the kin of each of those killed. He promised to rebuild houses destroyed in the fury.
In Kerala, heavy rains that later abated triggered landslides in many areas. Four people died in the hilly Wynad district. Train services were hit. Officials reported 13 deaths. Almost all 30 districts in Orissa experienced torrential rains yesterday, paralyzing life in many areas.
Balasore recorded 60 mm rain yesterday, the heaviest so far in the state, while Baripada town in Mayurbhanj district recorded 31 mm. An India Meteorological Department official told IANS that the rains in Andhra Pradesh were likely to abate. But heavy rains could hit Maharashtra and Karnataka.
