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Floods in India leave death toll near 1,000
The driving rain disrupted rail and air services, officials said, as the local weather office forecast "moderate to heavy rains in the next 24 hours" and the authorities appealed to residents not to leave their homes unless absolutely necessary. Airlines under huge pressure Incoming flights were routed to nearby destinations while outbound flights were cancelled due to poor visibility caused by the rain. International and domestic flights resumed later in the day when the downpour eased. Mumbai's airport - India's busiest - had been closed for two days last week due to torrential rains with flights resuming late Thursday. "Poor visibility because of the rains has hit flights. Airlines have a huge backlog of pending flights and waiting passengers," said Indian Airlines spokesman M. Swaminathan. "There is tremendous pressure on airlines." On Saturday, an Air India plane carrying more than 300 passengers skidded off the runway and became bogged down in soft ground. Train schedules remained disrupted or cancelled yesterday, said rail officials. Fresh rains again flooded low-lying suburban areas,
where water was lying knee-deep, and police issued traffic alerts urging people
not to travel on certain routes.
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