Floods in Chhattisgarh aggravated on Wednesday, claiming 20 lives and inundating 19 villages and two towns.

Five people were killed in Rajnandgaon, four each in Bastar and Raipur, three in Mahsamund and two each in Kanker and Janjgir-Champa, state flood control room sources said.

Over 17,183 houses have collapsed and property worth over Rs250 crore damaged, the sources said.

National Highway 6 -- between Mumbai and Kolkata -- continues to be cut off as floodwaters are flowing over two feet above road-level at several places, Mahasamund district collector Dr Maninder Kaur said.