Floods kill 25, displace thousands in India's Maharashtra, Karnataka

AT least 16 people have died in India's western state of Maharashtra as heavy rains and overflowing rivers swamped five districts, forcing authorities to move more than 140,000 people to safer places, a government official said on Wednesday (7).

Nearly 43,000 people have so far been evacuated from flood-hit and rain-affected areas of the Southern Indian state of Karnataka, where the rain fury has left nine people dead, authorities said on Thursday (8).

---

Rivers in Maharashtra were flooded as authorities released water from dams that had filled after some districts such as Kolhapur received as much as 26.4 inches of rainfall in a week.

"Reservoirs in these districts are full. If we get more rainfall, then we have no option but to release water in rivers," said Deepak Mhaiskar, divisional commissioner of Pune region.

The weather department has forecast heavy rainfall in the region in the next three days, prompting authorities to send more rescue teams by air.

Thousands of trucks were stuck on a national highway that connects the financial capital Mumbai to information and technology hub Bengaluru because the road was submerged in few places, Mhaiskar said.

Schools and colleges in the affected districts have been closed since Monday (5) and are unlikely to open this week, said a government official.

Floods in South Asia cause mass displacement and deaths annually, as the region gets seasonal monsoon rains during June-September.

India's monsoon rains, which deliver more than 70 per cent of the country's rainfall, are crucial for farm output and economic growth.

Karnataka

The worst-hit district in Karnataka state was Belagavi, where six persons have lost their lives, while 40,180 people have been evacuated.

Two persons lost their lives in rain-related incidents in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka, from where 3,088 people have been evacuated till date, and one in Shivamogga, according to official figures.

Nearly 17,000 people are taking shelter in relief camps.

Chief minister of Karnataka B S Yediyurappa is currently camping in Belagavi supervising relief and rescue operations.

On Thursday, he visited rain-affected Shivajinagar and Gandhinagar areas of Belagavi.

"Releases from reservoirs are well coordinated and as per protocol to prevent inundation of downstream areas. The villages likely to be affected due to heavy discharge have been identified and necessary precautions taken", an official statement said.

A total of 43,858 people from affected districts in northern, coastal and Malnad regions have so far been evacuated by joint rescue teams comprising Fire and Emergency department, State Disaster Response Force, National Disaster Response Force and Army, official sources said.

District administrations are on high alert and are prepared to tackle any emergency arising out of heavy discharge from reservoirs, the statement said.

"The flood situation is under control", it said.

(Reuters/PTI)