Some 175,000 evacuated in south India floods
CHENNAI, India, Monday (AFP) - Floods after days of heavy rains have
forced officials to evacuate about 175,000 people from their homes in
the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the Press Trust of India news
agency said Sunday.
Around 75,000 were evacuated in the state capital Chennai and 100,000
from other parts of Tamil Nadu, PTI said, quoting state Chief Minister
Selvi Jayalalithaa
"We have opened 140 relief centers and we have been feeding about
more than two lakh (200,000) people, about 3.8 lakh food packets have
been distributed yesterday and about five lakh food packets have been
distributed today," said Vijaya Kumar, commissioner of the Chennai
Corporation municipal agency, on the NDTV news channel.
Kumar said the city was experiencing its heaviest rainfall in
decades.
Although rain ceased on Sunday, the state weather department
predicted thundershowers in parts of the state for the next two days,
leading officials to fear the flood situation could worsen.
Low-lying outskirts of the city were flooded with water seen up to
waist deep on Sunday.
The city recorded 23 centimeters (nine inches) of rainfall in the 24
hours from Friday to Saturday morning, the PTI reported.
Electricity was cut in parts of the city formerly known as Madras
after water from nearby rivers and the Chembarakkam lake entered the
city.
Coastal Tamil Nadu was bracing for a cyclone from the Bay of Bengal
on Thursday, but the storm abated and a low-pressure area formed
instead, sending torrents of rain to the state. |