Death Toll Rises to 222 in Indian Floods

The death toll from flooding in southern India rose to 222 on Monday after days of torrential rain left vast tracts of land devastated and displaced millions of people, officials said.

The floods have submerged scores of villages in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka states, disrupted transportation and communication links and forced whole villages to seek shelter in crowded government-run relief camps.

In Karnataka, the worst-hit of the two states, 172 people have died and more than 50,000 are staying in relief camps. Hundreds of thousands more have sought shelter in the homes of friends and relatives, R.V. Jagdish, a government spokesman said.

In neighboring Andhra Pradesh, 50 people have died and around 1.5 million have been displaced and were sheltering in 100 relief camps, said state chief minister K. Rosaiah.

Medical teams have been rushed to the relief camps in both states, the officials said, amid fear of disease spreading in the crowded shelters.

On Monday, flood waters in both states had begun to recede after , the officials said.

The head of India's ruling Congress Party Sonia Gandhi and Home Minister P. Chidambaram are expected to conduct aerial surveys of the affected areas in both states, Jagdish said.

Just weeks ago, most parts of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka were suffering from severe drought. Weather officials say an area of low pressure in the Bay of Bengal has caused the sudden, torrential rains. More rain is forecast for the area over the next 24 hours.