31.   In recent days, the Desai home has been flooded by letters and telegrams wishing him a happy birthday.

32.   In the north of the country, canals overflowed, flooding homes in the towns of Bruges and Gand, where firemen pumped out cellars and built sandbag barriers.

33.   A dam burst in the northern Syrian province of Hama on Tuesday flooding homes in nearby villages, state television said, without reporting casualties.

34.   More than a thousand buildings were inundated in the worst hit areas, while other homes were flooded by swollen rivers bursting their banks.

35.   Stagnant, polluted water has flooded the homes of those living between the temporary dykes and the river levees for more than a month.