New Delhi, December 5 (RHC)-- India has blamed industrialization for causing extreme weather conditions as the death toll from deadly floods in the southern state of Tamil Nadu reaches 325.
On Saturday, hundreds of extra soldiers and relief workers were deployed to the flooded city of Chennai to aid residents caught in India's heaviest rains in 100 years.
The devastating floods in India's south are the result of greenhouse gas emissions pumped by industrialized nations into the atmosphere, Indian Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar told Indian daily The Hindu on Friday.
"What is happening in Chennai is the result of what has happened for 150 years in the developed world," the Indian environment minister said. The death toll is expected to go up as more water recedes.
Two bouts of heavy torrential rain from December 1 to 4 have led to the deaths.
Up to eight feet (2.5 meters) of flood water has covered residential areas, roads, railway tracks and the city’s airport with many residents trapped on rooftops or upper floors without power or communication services.