Floods caused by a tropical storm swamped one of India's biggest cities and killed 10 people in adjoining areas, forcing authorities to move people to higher ground, officials said on Wednesday. Heavy rains brought down houses, uprooted trees and damaged crops in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, officials and witnesses said. Hundreds of people from low-lying areas in the city of Chennai, the state capital, were moved to higher grounds. Snakes moved into flooded homes in Chennai, forcing people to flee. Some called wildlife parks to get the reptiles removed. “Several snakes, including cobras, have been rescued so far following distress calls,” K.S. Satyamoorthy, an wildlife official said on Wednesday. At least 10 people have died in remote areas in the state over the past week, mostly by electrocution as overhead electric wires snapped after the storm, Nisha, swept across the state. Authorities said the storm was expected to cross the Tamil Nadu coast late on Wednesday and gradually weaken. Authorities shut schools statewide on Wednesday, and used pumps to drain water from the streets of Chennai.
