Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The worst floods in decades in southern India have killed at least 250 people and left some 2.5 million people homeless. Aid workers from around the globe have “fanned out” across the region, reports the Press Association, to meet the urgent needs of people who only weeks earlier were suffering from severe drought. The torrential rains appear to have been caused by a low pressure zone over the Bay of Bengal and more rain is expected in the next 24 hours, say weather forecasters.
Sugarcane, a major crop in the area, may have escaped relatively unscathed. Sugar prices have been rising dramatically worldwide because of a shortfall in production in Brazil and lower production than consumption in India, the world’s largest consumer of sugar.
Geneva-based International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, which regroups the national Red Cross organizations, has a web page devoted to the recent natural disasters in Asia. It lists currrent appeals for aid and provides a link to a map on Google Earth which shows the flood area.
Links to other sites: Bloomberg, India Meteorological Department, Reuters News Alerts for Humanitarian Aid, Press Association, World Meteorological Organization in Geneva, Yahoo News
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News story, GenevaLunch, 6 October 2009.
Filed under: International organizations
Tags: aid workers, deaths, floods, Geneva, homeless, India, International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, meteorology, monsoon, rain, Switzerland, WMO