Massive clear-up after floods

Large areas of Hyderabad remain waterlogged

A massive clearing-up operation is under way in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, three days after storms and flash flooding left more than 120 people dead.

The state capital Hyderabad has been among the areas worst hit, with 35,000 of its four million population affected and thousands of homes destroyed.

The state government says its operations have moved from rescue to relief, and rehabilitation will come next.

Large areas of Hyderabad remain under water, although there has been no further rainfall since Thursday morning.

The BBC's South Asia correspondent, Mike Wooldridge, says families in Hyderabad have been spending the day bailing out the water that has filled the ground floor of their homes.

Collapsed homes

Some homes in a shanty town he visited in Hyderabad were completely caved in, and across the state many of the deaths were caused by collapsing walls and houses.

He says local officials have faced a chorus of complaints from needy people made homeless by the floods.

Earlier in the day, military helicopters flew missions to rescue residents of Andhra Pradesh from rooftops.

We are operating relief camps in a very big way so that we want to provide food

Chief Minister Naidu

On Wednesday, Hyderabad received over 24cm (9.5 inches) of rain in 24 hours, about one third of its average annual rainfall and the heaviest rains in 50 years.

Across the state, nearly 100,000 people have been displaced, and thousands of hectares of farmland are still submerged.

Disease threat

State Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu warned of the spread of disease because some people had no access to safe drinking water, and he appealed for outside help.

"We are operating relief camps in a very big way so that we want to provide food.

A road damaged by the floods in Hyderabad

"Immediately after that we are giving every family, those who have lost their houses 1000 rupees (about $21), and also 500 rupees for partially destroyed houses and 100 rupees for clothing and at the same time 20 kilograms of rice to every family," Mr Naidu said.

Earlier in August, more than 100 people died and millions were made homeless when monsoon floods hit north-eastern India.

Unprepared

State infrastructure has been badly damaged across Andhra Pradesh, including the road and rail system, telecommunications, electricity supply and drinking water system.

Andhra Pradesh facts

Population 78m

Coastline nearly 1,000 km long

Some 70% dependent on agriculture

Hyderabad an emerging IT centre

The national highway linking Calcutta and Madras is also affected.

The worst hit districts of the state were Guntur, Kurnool, Prakasam, Khammam and Rayalaseema. In the coastal district of Guntur alone 37 people were reported killed.

Mr Naidu admitted his government was totally unprepared for the disaster.

However, he said it would have made little difference if meteorologists had foreseen the severity of the cyclonic rains produced by a low-pressure depression which formed 100 kilometres (60 miles) off the coast.