The New Nation - Internet Edition

AP, Hyderabad

Monsoon rains crumpled homes and triggered flash floods in southern India, killing 18 people, an official said Saturday.

Parts of Hyderabad and two other districts of Andhra Pradesh state were inundated when 4.7 inches of rain fell in less than five hours Friday, said Navin Mittal, a government official. He said it was the heaviest downpour there in eight years. A mother and her child were among the 13 people killed in house collapses in Hyderabad, the state capital, Mittal said. Three others died in Medak district and two in Vijaywada, raising the state's death toll to 28 in the past week. The deluge left thousands of vehicles stranded in up to three feet of water in Hyderabad.

Monsoon rains, vital for India's farmers, bring massive destruction across the country. Thousands die every year as a result of flooding, broken houses and other rain-related incidents.

Floods, mudslides, house collapses and lightning strikes have killed at least 184 people across the country so far this year. The monsoon season began in June and ends in September.