Indian Floods Leave 4.5 Million Homeless
Julie Farby - All Headline News Staff Writer Ahmedabad, India (AHN)-Officials say swollen rivers flooded thousands of villages and towns across India's south and west on Wednesday, forcing 4.5 million from their homes as rescuers struggled to bring them food and drinking water. India's annual monsoon rains-vital for the country's agriculture-driven economy-have triggered floods that have killed at least 311 people, and caused widespread damage to crops. In Maharashtra and also neighboring Gujarat, military boats and helicopters continued to reach out to thousands who remained stranded on trees and rooftops, many without food and water, after rivers burst their banks and flooded homes. In Gujarat, about 200 villages were cut off and the industrial town of Surat, known for its diamond-cutting and textile trades, went without power as floodwaters inundated the region, leaving around three million people homeless. Officials say phone lines were down, train services to Surat suspended and there was an acute shortage of drinking water. Full-scale relief operations would begin once water levels receded, with local administrator Vatsala Vasudev telling Reuters, "It is tough to reach out to the needy, the water level is rising minute by minute."
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