New Delhi: Rain continues to wreak havoc across Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Goa and Maharashtra with over 75 deaths reported from these states due to rain-related incidents.
At least 45 people have been killed in Andhra Pradesh and hundreds are still stranded in buses and trains.
Though the state government has pressed emergency operations into service and has opened 95 relief camps in the state, the Met Department fears the worst may be far from over.
Andhra Pradesh: 45 killed, thousands stranded
According to weather officials, a low-pressure area that crossed the Andhra coast early Friday triggering the heavy rains was centred over Osmanabad in neighbouring Maharashtra.
Officials had earlier put the death toll at 45. But Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy told reporters in the capital Saturday evening that 13 people, who were missing in Kurnool and Kadpa districts since Friday and feared dead by local officials, had returned safely.
Some 70 soldiers Saturday joined civil authorities in rescue and relief operations in the worst hit Kurnool district. Helicopters were also pressed into service.
The chief minister said 84,000 people had taken shelter in 51 relief camps in Kurnool district while authorities air-dropped or distributed 200,000 food packets among the affected.
For the second consecutive day, flights were suspended to the coastal city of Visakhapatnam.
The chief minister announced compensation of Rs.200,000 for the kin of each of those killed.
Kerala: 20 killed
In Kerala, at least 20 people have died and heavy rain has hit power supply, traffic and telecommunication services.
On Saturday itself, 10 people died in various rain-related incidents, officials said. The total number of missing people is not yet known.
The youngest to die was a four-year-old boy in Baluserry in Kozhikode district while a family of four was swept away due to landslide in Wayanad district. Their bodies were recovered later.
One death each was reported from Kollam, Kottayam, Kannur, Ernakulam and Kozhikode districts.
Revenue Minister K.P. Rajendran told reporters here that the state government had allotted Rs.2.5 million for the affected people in Thiruvananthapuram district and Rs.2 million each for the other seven affected districts for immediate relief.
Maharashtra: 11 killed in Pune
In Pune, 11 people were crushed when walls of two buildings collapsed and at least six people were reported trapped in Mumbai when a similar incident occurred there.
The city recorded nearly 100 mm of rainfall on Saturday and there was heavy downpour in many districts of Western Maharashtra including Sangli, Solapur and Kolhapur as well.
In the first incident early Saturday, eight members of two families were buried alive at a construction site in Baner on the outskirts of Pune.
"The victims included construction labourers and their family members. Heavy rains have, however, hampered rescue operations. Efforts are on to locate the body of a minor," a senior police official told IANS from Pune.
"In the second incident, four labourers were killed near the Maharashtra Institute of Technology (MIT), at Paud Road area when a wall fell on them due to water pressure accumulated due heavy overnight rain," police said.
The Met Department has predicted heavy rainfall in Kerala and parts of Maharashtra for the next two days.
(With Agency inputs)
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