Indian floods
© EPAMore than a million people in Andhra Pradesh have sought shelter in 100 relief camps
Floods in southern India have left 250 people dead and displaced millions more.

The floods in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka states, described as the worst in decades, have resulted in losses of homes, farms and infrastructure worth over 220 billion rupees (£2.9 billion), authorities said.

In Karnataka, the worst-hit of the two states, the death toll has risen to 194 and more than 150,000 were staying in hundreds of state-run relief camps, R.V. Jagdish, a government spokesman said. Hundreds of thousands more had sought shelter in the homes of friends and relatives.

In neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, 60 people died and more than a million people had sought shelter in 100 relief camps, Dharmana Prasada Rao, the state's revenue minister said.

In Andhra Pradesh, thousands of army troops joined local government workers in placing sandbags to strengthen the embankments of the flooded Krishna River. The river runs through the town of Vijaywada, which is home to more than a million people.

In both states, the flood waters continued to recede on Tuesday after a 48-hour halt in the rain, officials said. The state governments were now focusing on assessing the damage and ensuring that medical aid reached the displaced to prevent disease from spreading. Aid workers were also distributing food and clean drinking water in the relief camps.

The head of India's ruling Congress Party, Sonia Gandhi, conducted aerial surveys of the affected areas in both states on Monday, Mr 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.