ACT Alert

India / Orissa - 1/01

Monsoon Floods Worsen

Geneva, 12 July, 2001

Heavy Monsoon rains have flooded parts of coastal as well as several districts in normally drought prone Western Orissa. According to local sources virtually all the districts in Western Orissa have been cut off with rivers flowing above the danger marks affecting 5 million people in 10 districts across the state. Flash floods have compounded the situation, and the meteorology department is warning of heavy rains and thunderstorms still to come. Thousands have had to be evacuated and the damage to infrastructure and the states economy will be considerable. 20 deaths have already been recorded.