India: at least 30 dead or missing in floods
At least 30 people are dead or missing as a result of flash floods in southern India, media reported on Saturday, citing three buses washed away. Rescuers have pulled out a dozen bodies after three buses were swept away in the waters in the coastal state of Andhra Pradesh on Friday. At least 18 other people are still missing, according to The NewsMinute news website.
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The increasingly unpredictable and extreme weather patterns that have hit southern Asia in recent years are caused by climate change and exacerbated by deforestation, dam construction and overdevelopment, experts say.
Dozens of people have died since October in India in floods and landslides caused by heavy rainfall, and meteorologists announced heavy rains Saturday in several southern regions of the country. At least 42 people were killed last month when heavy rains hit Kerala.
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On Friday, the authorities of this state banned access to the Sabarimala temple, one of the holiest shrines in Hinduism, due to heavy rains. Since last week, hundreds of devotees have been making their way to Sabarimala every day as part of an annual pilgrimage that lasts two months. The rising waters of the Pamba River, considered sacred, forced the authorities to ban worshipers from going there for a day, the Hindustan Times newspaper reported on Saturday.
See also – Extensive damage and missing after torrential rains and landslides in India
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