Floods sweep away homes in southern India- News In Pictures

Thousands of troops and relief workers have fanned out across southern India providing aid to areas devastated by flooding that has left more than 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.

In Karnataka, the worst-hit of the two states, the death toll has risen to 194 and more than 150,000 are staying in hundreds of state-run relief camps, RV Jagdish, a government spokesman said.

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