New Delhi - The Indian Army, Navy and Air Force were trying to rescue thousands of stranded people Saturday as the death toll from floods in the southern states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh crossed 140, officials and news reports said. Some unofficial reports said the toll could be much higher. Communication with many areas had been cut off for at least two days and information was still filtering in, officials at the two states' disaster management units said.
Three days of heavy rain beginning Thursday caused reservoirs and rivers to overflow and flood large areas of northern Karnataka and western Andhra Pradesh.
The total number of rain-related deaths in Karnataka was at least 130, while 3 million people were affected by widespread damage to homes and crops, NDTV news channel reported.
The official death toll in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh was 27, but could be higher as at least 100 people were reported missing, an official at the government's disaster management unit in state capital Hyderabad said.
More than 1,000 army personnel were engaged in rescue and relief operations. They were using motorized boats to rescue marooned people and helicopters to airdrop food packets.
Several towns and villages in northern Karnataka including worst-hit Kurnool, about 250 kilometres north of state capital Bangalore, were submerged, IANS news agency reported.
There was no electricity, lower floors were flooded and people were waiting for help on rooftops.
Authorities had asked the 500,000 residents of Kurnool to evacuate on Friday as water in the nearby Srisailam dam rose above danger level, but many who lived on upper storeys failed to get out as the town was rapidly inundated and the waters rose over five feet.
Karnataka Revenue Minister D Prasada Rao said said waters had started receding in Kurnool and surrounding areas and relief and rescue operations should become easier.
The Metereological Department predicted further heavy showers in the region over the next 24 hours.
India's monsoon season usually brings rains from June and withdraws by the end of September. The weather office said the rains over southern India were being caused by a depression in the Bay of Bengal and heavy cloud formations over the Arabian Sea.
