As many as 500 people have died and at least 100 are missing in torrential rains and floods across India since August 1. After Kerala and Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh is on alert following rising water levels in Krishna River. All major rivers-Brahmaputra in Assam, Bagmati and Kosi in Bihar, Warna in Maharashtra, Tungabhadra in Andhra Pradesh, Ganga in Uttar Pradesh and Vamsadhara in Odisha are flowing above danger level.
As per flood situation report prepared by the Ministry of Home Affairs, 91 deaths have been reported from Kerala, 54 from Karnataka, 48 from Maharashtra and eight from Odisha in the past one week. Between July and the first week of August, at least 98 deaths were reported from Gujarat, 123 in Bihar and 71 in Assam. With several persons still missing, authorities fear the toll will likely go up. Since the onset of monsoon (from June 1), as many as 950 people died due to floods, landslides and rain related incidents across the country.
The IMD has warned of heavy rainfall over the next five days in several places. Heavy rain in parts of four Indian states — Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat — has forced more than 1.2 million people to leave their homes, mostly for government-run relief camps
At least 95 people were killed and more than 50 are missing in Kerala, where heavy rainfall triggered dozens of landslides last week and trapped more than 100 people. Kerala was hit by its worst floods in almost a century last year, when 450 people died, and the state is still recovering from the damage to public infrastructure including railways and roads.
In neighbouring Karnataka, home to the technology hub Bengaluru, 54 people died and 15 are missing after rivers burst their banks when authorities released water from dams. Nearly 700,000 people have been evacuated in the state. Heavy rainfall is expected in parts of Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat, as well as Madhya Pradesh, in the next two days, IMD said. In Maharashtra, 48 people died but flood waters are receding. In Madhya Pradesh, the biggest producer of soybeans, heavy rains killed 32 people and damaged crops, authorities said. In Gujarat, 31 people died in rain-related incidents, while landslides killed nearly a dozen people in the northern hilly State of Uttarakhand.