Over 200,000 Evacuated In W. India As Flooding Continues - 1,000+ Dead

[hatrack]

Villages in western and southern India were evacuated Friday with at least 222,000 people moved to higher ground as waters released from near-bursting dams flooded vast rural tracts, officials said.
B.S Prakash, chief of the disaster unit in southern Karnataka state, said 16 more people died overnight due to house collapses and flooding in rural regions.

Overflowing rivers and dams in the western state of Maharashtra, which bore the brunt of a week-long drenching that left more than 1,000 people dead, were emptying waters into neighbouring Karnataka, he said. "A massive evacuation exercise is underway," Prakash told AFP. "More than 122,000 villagers have been evacuated (in Karnataka) so far and 3,200 villages are hit."

The state authorities had deployed boats and helicopters of the Indian air force to rescue and provide relief to marooned villagers.

"According to the state officials working in these regions, 200 villages have been inundated while 15 villages with a population of 20,000 have been completely marooned," Prakash said. State government officials said 23,280 houses in the flooded regions had already been destroyed by the swirling waters.

EDIT

http://www.terradaily.com/2005/050805112953.p2vg0529.html

[malaise]

1. This is an unbelievable tragedy.

Monsoons are normally bad but what has happened in several states this year is a tragedy that is not gaining global attention.

[phantom power]

2. These floods are shaping up to be a real disaster.

Monsoon season still has a long way to go.