Aid workers used helicopters and boats to try to reach survivors of massive floods in southern India that have killed at least 280 people, officials said Tuesday.

Days of heavy rain and flash floods in the states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra have forced close to 1.5 million people to take refuge in relief camps.

Authorities stopped evacuating residents and have instead focused on getting medical aid to them to prevent an outbreak of disease.

Rescuers recovered more bodies, bringing the death toll in Karnataka alone to 194.

Water levels were receding in many places, but aid workers had to use helicopters and relief boats to distribute essential supplies to low-lying villages cut off from road transport.

"In a few pockets, relief has not reached in time. There are concerns about providing food, blankets and medicines to displaced people," H.V. Parashwanath, secretary of Karnataka's disaster monitoring agency, told AFP.

Residents complained that electricity and drinking water were scarce, and that the prices of essential items such as rice and vegetables had shot up.

Thousands of relief camps have been set up to shelter at least 800,000 displaced people in Andhra Pradesh, and around 550,000 in Karnataka, according to government figures.

Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa estimated more than 17 million people had been affected by the floods, and has asked the central government for two billion dollars to rebuild houses and permanently resettle villages.

His Andhra Pradesh counterpart, K. Rosaiah, said the disaster had caused more than 2.4 billion dollars in damage.

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