Thursday, November 8, 2012
Tens of thousands have been displaced and at least 25 people killed in southern India due to torrential rains and heavy flooding during the last week.
According to officials in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, almost 100,000 people have been forced to leave their homes due to severe weather, with 95,000 people in government-run relief camps. The districts of Visakhapatnam, East and West Godavari, Krishna, Guntur and Khammam were hardest hit. So far, 25 people have died in the state as a result of the torrential rains and heavy flooding. An additional 15 people were killed in the neighboring state of Tamil Nadu.
The weather has significantly disrupted normal life as well as traffic. When the flood waters recede, farmers in the region may also see that almost all their crops were destroyed by the flooding.
“The unseasonal rainfall has destroyed our crops and our entire field is submerged in water,” says Arku Rajaipa, a farmer in Gunthur district. He also said that his family would be forced to rely on the government for food for the rest of the year.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has offered federal support for the affected areas and contacted the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh.