Millions affected, thousands homeless in South India floods

While Andhra Pradesh continues being lashed by rains, in Karnataka the water is receding revealing the true extent of damage. The Chief Minister of the former has called upon the national government to declare the flood in the state a national calamity. The official death toll in the latter has scaled up to 176.

Reports from ActionAid partners in both the states indicate massive damage to roads and infrastructure. Homes of poor communities have been washed away and the scale of relief is inadequate compared to the scale of devastation.

In Andhra Pradesh, close to two million people have been affected in 475 villages and over 33 people have been reported dead as per the government figures. Close to 50,000 homes have been destroyed forcing two hundred thousand people into relief shelters.

In Karnataka, the districts of Bijapur, Bagalkote, Raichur, Koppal and Gulbarga are the worst affected. In Bijapur alone 10,000 people have been left homeless.