Globe showing climate change
The eastern Indian state of Orissa has received 84% more rain than usual resulting in floods that have left 30 people dead and up to 500,000 marooned. The floods - have affected more than four million people and 7,000 villages.
It is still raining heavily in parts of Orissa and the death toll is rising according to local officials. The federal government in Delhi has pledged some $22m in aid to the region.
Army helicopters have started dropping supplies of food and medicine to affected areas, and the chief minister has called on the national government to make emergency relief money available. The flooding is expected to get worse soon, because the authorities were forced to open floodgates on a dam on the state's largest river, the Mahanadi. That released hundreds of millions of gallons of water.
More low-lying villages, farmlands and villages are expected to be inundated. What particularly worries state officials is that flooding has become so severe so early in the monsoon season. Heavy rain usually continues until September.
Source: BBC Online
