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Meghalaya floods: Toll in Garo Hills rises to 15 as 5 more deaths confirmed
The latest fatalities include a father-son duo, a mother-daughter pair, and a man killed by a falling tree, as torrential rains and landslides wreak havoc in the region
The death toll of the floods in Meghalaya’s Garo Hills rose to 15 with five more casualties confirmed on Sunday.
The latest fatalities include a father-son duo, a mother-daughter pair, and a man killed by a falling tree, as torrential rains and landslides wreak havoc in the region.
The first incident occurred in Dimapara on Friday evening when a father and son were swept away by floodwaters while attempting to cross a submerged road. The victims, Bijoy S. Sangma, a 44-year-old schoolteacher, and his 13-year-old son Wian Chigado R. Marak, were returning home from school when they encountered a flooded road below the Dimapara bridge, which had been submerged by the swollen Bugai River. Despite warnings from locals about the strong current, Sangma attempted to drive through the floodwaters in his Wagon R. Tragically, the car was carried away by the rushing water.
Although the car was recovered by State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams on Saturday, the bodies of Sangma and his son were retrieved the following day from a low-lying area near Sonagre village in Dalu. Both victims were residents of Rongkhon Songgital, Tura.
In East Garo Hills, a mother and daughter lost their lives in a deadly landslide triggered by heavy rains late Saturday night. Amerin K. Marak and her daughter, Manase K. Marak, were asleep in their home in Gongdop village when a massive section of a hill behind their house collapsed, burying the structure under tonnes of soil. Rescue teams, along with villagers, managed to recover their bodies on Sunday morning.
Another tragic incident occurred late Saturday night when a man, identified as Thenseng R. Marak, was killed after a tree uprooted by a storm fell on his car in the Songsak reserve forest area of East Garo Hills. Marak, who was driving with two women relatives, died instantly, while the two women sustained serious injuries and were taken to Williamnagar hospital after receiving initial treatment at Songsak PHC.
Meanwhile, search and rescue efforts in South Garo Hills yielded the recovery of three bodies from the Hatiasia Songma landslide site. The victims were among seven family members buried when a section of a hill collapsed on their house in Gasuapara Block on Friday.
Sanjay Goyal, the commissioner and secretary of the Revenue & Disaster Management Department of Meghalaya told HT over phone, “All relevant departments are working vigorously to respond to the situation. All deputy commissioners and superintendents of police remain on maximum alert and vigil. Even as rescue teams of the state police, fire and emergency service, SDRF, NDRF continue to search for the remaining missing individuals, we are committed to providing necessary assistance and relief to all affected citizens.”
