BANGALORE, Oct 2 (Reuters) - More than 130 people have died and hundreds are being evacuated due to heavy rains which have lashed two southern Indian states over the past three days, officials said. Rains damaged crops and disrupted communications and transport links. Police said most of the victims were washed away in flooded rivers or died when their homes collapsed. A depression in the Bay of Bengal led to the heavy rains in the region, weather officials said. Nearly 100 people died in northern Karnataka, the worst-hit state of which the IT hub Bangalore is the capital. The other deaths were reported from neighbouring Andhra Pradesh. "Over 25,000 homes have been destroyed in Karnataka," the state's Chief Minister B.S.Yeddyurappa told reporters, adding that helicopters had been sent for relief and rescue work. Authorities were shifting hundreds of people from low-lying areas to school buildings and temples on higher ground, but the Air Force said rain and storms were hindering operations. (Editing by Matthias Williams; editing by David Stamp)
A man makes his way down after uninstalling an advertising billboard in preparation for the incoming Typhoon Parma in Makati's financial district of Manila October 2, 2009. The Philippines declared a ...
