Torrential rains lashed Karnataka and Maharashtra Sunday, throwing rail and air traffic out of gear but the situation improved in worst-hit Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, even as the death toll in these states mounted to 117. Several coastal and low-lying villages in Andhra Pradesh were cut off from the rest of the state, leaving many persons marooned. Seventy army personnel joined civil authorities in rescuing people from badly-affected Kurnool district where 85,000 people have been evacuated and kept in 51 relief camps. Hundreds of families in Kerala continued to be in relief camps with many coastal areas still remaining vulnerable to swirling floods. The death toll in the heavy rains in Andhra Pradesh has been put at 37 after 13 persons, who were presumed dead after being washed away in Kundu river near Kurnool, were found alive yesterday. Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy undertook an aerial survey of the worst-affected Kurnool district in Rayalaseema region where several villages remained cut-off, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported.
