CHENNAI, India, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Floods caused by a tropical storm swamped one of India's biggest cities and killed 10 people in adjoining areas, forcing authorities to move people to higher ground, officials said on Wednesday.

Heavy rains brought down houses, uprooted trees and damaged crops in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, officials and witnesses said.

Hundreds of people from low-lying areas in the city of Chennai, the state capital, were moved to higher grounds.

Snakes moved into flooded homes in Chennai, forcing people to flee. Some called wildlife parks to get the reptiles removed.

"Several snakes, including cobras, have been rescued so far following distress calls," K.S. Satyamoorthy, an wildlife official said on Wednesday.

At least 10 people have died in remote areas in the state over the past week, mostly by electrocution as overhead electric wires snapped after the storm, Nisha, swept across the state.

Authorities said the storm was expected to cross the Tamil Nadu coast late on Wednesday and gradually weaken.

The unseasonal rains also destroyed more than 20,000 hectares (around 50,000 acres) of cropland in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, officials said.

Authorities shut schools state-wide on Wednesday, and used pumps to drain water from the streets of Chennai.

Fishermen were warned not to venture into the high seas after more than 100 boats were damaged and an Indian fishing trawler sank in Sri Lankan waters.

Monsoon rains and burst dams unleashed bouts of flooding in South Asia this year, killing more than 2,000 people, mostly in India, but also in Nepal. (Reporting by S. Murari; Writing by Bappa Majumdar; Editing by Alistair Scrutton and Valerie Lee)

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