NAN-F-31
Flood
New Delhi, July 25, 2017 (dpa/NAN) Floods brought on by India’s monsoon rains have destroyed roads, homes and crops across large swathes of the western states of Gujarat and Rajasthan, Disaster Management officials said on Tuesday.
In Gujarat, 33,000 people were evacuated from flooded areas, largely in the Banaskantha district.
All roads in the area were submerged and so were rail tracks, NDTV news channel reported.
In neighbouring Rajasthan more than 200 people were rescued from marooned villages by helicopters and boats.
The flooding was brought on by heavy rains over the past week.
The Indian weather office has predicted further heavy showers in these regions till Thursday which is raising fears that more areas might be inundated.
India’s monsoon season between June and September often sees heavy rains that are vital for agriculture but can cause immense destruction.
At least 64 people have died in Gujarat and seven in Rajasthan in rain-related incidents since the monsoon season began.
In Assam, where 75 people have died so far, the situation was easing, an official at the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) control room in New Delhi said.
Other states affected by floods include all of India’s north-eastern states, eastern West Bengal, Orissa and central Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and the state of Uttarakhand.
According to data collected by the NDMA, 225 people have died across the country between June 1 and July 21 in rain-related incidents and more than 2.71 million people have been affected. (dpa/NAN)
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Edited by Celine-Damilola Oyewole/Sadiya Hamza