what caused the floods in southern India, when did they start and how many people have been evacuated?

Monsoon rains kill hundreds of Indians each year - and Kerala is usually among the worst-hit areas

THE floods in Southern India have laid waste to Kerala and left hundreds of thousands of people without homes.

But what caused them, when did they start, and how many people have been evacuated? Find out here...

The floods in Southern India came at the height of monsoon season.

Monsoon rains kill hundreds of Indians each year - and Kerala is usually among the worst-hit areas.

Deforestation and clogged rivers are thought to have contributed to the unusually severe flooding this year.

It is the region's worst flood since 1924.

The floods started in mid-June, when Monsoon season officially began.

The monsoon flooding has severely hit 12 of Kerala's 14 districts, with thousands of homes damaged since June.

Crops on 32,500 hectares (80,300 acres) of land have also been damaged, the Home Ministry said.

A total of 407 people have died in Kerala, 190 in Uttar Pradesh, 183 people in West Bengal, 139 in Maharashtra, 52 in Gujarat, 45 in Assam and 11 in Nagaland state, officials and the Press Trust of India news agency reported.