Toll rises in South Asia floods

Reuters
Sunday, August 26, 2007; 6:39 AM

PATNA, India (Reuters) - Flood victims in eastern India were eating raw wheat flour to survive as devastating monsoon flooding in South Asia continued to spread misery among millions.

Nearly 2,000 people have been killed by snake bites, drowning, diarrhea and in house collapses since July when swollen rivers burst their banks, inundating huge areas in eastern India and Bangladesh.

"My family has been chewing flour soaked in water to survive as we do not have access to firewood to make rotis (bread)," said Genu Sada, 90, in Begusarai district on Sunday.

In neighboring West Bengal state, hundreds of people have turned trucks stranded on highways into makeshift homes. Flood waters have swamped vast areas, making elevated roads points of refuge.

"We are sleeping and eating inside the trucks as there is water everywhere and we have nowhere to go," Anukul Samanta, a villager in West Midnapore district, said.

In the eastern state of Orissa, at least four villagers have died from water-borne diseases since Saturday, pushing the overall toll to 43 in the state since floods began earlier this month.

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