Floods in India on Friday, August 9, 2019 triggered by heavy monsoon rains and overflowing rivers have killed 64 people and forced evacuations of tens of thousands from their homes, officials say.
According to officials, 25 people were killed in the southern state of Kerala on Thursday, while government data in the neighbouring state of Karnataka showed 12 dead in the same period.
They said the victims were washed away by floods or died in incidents of landslides or house collapses. More than 200,000 people were estimated to be either displaced or evacuated in both states.
According to Hindustan Times Daily, at least 27 people were reportedly killed in different flood-related incidents in the western state of Maharashtra in the past few days, rescuing and evacuating another 200,000 people to safer places.
The flooding, however, forced authorities to halt all operations from Kerala’s main international airport at Kochi.
The airport was shut until 1500 (or 0830 GMT) on Sunday.
Nearly 500 people were killed in floods that hit Kerala in the last monsoon season considered the worst to hit the state in nearly a century.
India’s monsoon season between June and September witnessed heavy rains which were vital anyway for agriculture but caused immense destruction and loss of lives.
Dozens have died in floods in India, particularly in the eastern states of Bihar and Assam over the recent weeks with the inundation causing heavy losses to farms, homes and infrastructure
