Toll in south India floods rises to 102

(October 03, 2009) At least 35 more people died Friday after flash floods washed away thousands of homes in southern India, pushing the death toll from this week's heavy rains to 102, officials and media said. In worst-hit Karnataka state, floods have destroyed at least 26,000 houses, submerged roads and snapped communication links in many areas. On Friday, district officials in Karnataka reported the deaths of 35 people, pushing the death toll over the past two days to 86, with many more people reported missing, the Press Trust of India news agency said. Army troops have begun rescue operations and helicopters are dropping food and drinking water packets in the worst-affected areas, about 600 kilometres (375 miles) north of the state capital, Bangalore. Scores of villages in 11 districts in northern Karnataka were submerged and people had fled to higher ground, a top official said. «Northern Karnataka is reeling from unprecedented rainfall. At least 26,000 houses have collapsed,» Karnataka's chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa said. Late monsoon flooding has hit a large areas across southern India. On Thursday, torrential rains and widespread flooding killed at least 16 people in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh state.