Heavy rains in India kill at least 17

updated 4:14 p.m. ET Oct. 30, 2007

HYDERABAD, India - At least 17 people have died in floods in southern India and nearly 33,000 have been displaced as heavy rains hammered the region for a second day, officials said Tuesday.

Most of the victims have died in Nellore district, a southern area in the state of Andhra Pradesh, said state Revenue Minister Dharmana Prasad Rao. Four members of a wedding party drowned Monday night when their bus was caught in a flash flood. Ten other people died in the same district.

State authorities have built 47 temporary camps for 32,800 people who have been evacuated from low-lying areas, Rao said. Thousands of people across the state have been stranded as floodwaters submerged roads and railroad tracks, he said.

Weather officials predicted heavy rains along Andhra Pradesh's coast to continue over the next several days.

Monsoon rains usually hit India from June to September. This year they were particularly deadly, killing more than 2,200 people, most of them in northern India.

MORE FROM WEATHER

Weather Section Front

Severe weather likely in Midwest, South   Carlos again hurricane off Pacific   Floodwaters drown 7 in bus in India Sandstorms, drought hobble once-fertile Iraq   Thai flooding displaces thousands Weather Section Front   Add Weather headlines to your news reader: