Filthy flood waters spark disease worries in India

KOLKATA, India-Health officials in India's flood-hit city of Kolkata said on Thursday they were worried about the outbreak of disease, as residents drank and swam in filthy, neck-deep water.The city of over 8 million faced the prospect of more flooding as a storm, 50 km (20 miles) north of Kolkata, brought fresh downpours and uprooted trees. Weather officials forecast heavy rains over the next two days.
Monsoon rains have already swamped homes and disrupted power in the eastern city. Most schools were closed for the third day running and many offices empty as people avoided going to work through the flooded streets.Authorities used sandbags to shore up embankments along the Hooghly river.Health workers in boats distributed rehydration packets and medicine as reports of skin infections and fever came in."Each time I wade across the flooded streets, my skin starts burning," Ravindra Shaw, 33, a resident said.As overflowing sewage mixed with rain water, health experts worried about the outbreak of disease."We are warning children not to swim in these waters and avoid wading across the streets just for fun as this could be hazardous," said Deb Dwaipayan Chattopadhyay, a senior health department official.
Many people also do not have clean drinking water...
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As in the days of Noah...