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11 more die in Assam, Meghalaya as floods and landslides wreak havoc
Landslides and floods triggered by heavy rains have left 11 people dead and several injured in Assam and Meghalaya in the past 24 hours, officials said on Friday.
Landslides and floods triggered by heavy rains have left 11 people dead and several injured in Assam and Meghalaya in the past 24 hours, officials said on Friday.
The weatherman has forecast widespread thundershowers with isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall over all the northeastern states, adjoining sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim during the next five days.
With seven fresh deaths on Friday, the overall toll in Assam in rain-related incidents rose to 15 in three days. Three persons were injured in a landslide in Guwahati, officials said.
Kamrup (M), Bajali, Darrang, Goalpara, Kokrajhar, Morigaon, Nalbari, Udalguri and Guwahati are among the worst-affected areas. Guwahati continued to remain flooded for the third consecutive day.
Nearly 70,000 people were rendered homeless and have taken shelter in 196 relief camps across the state, according to Assam State Disaster Management (ASDMA).
Incessant rains in the state have led to a rise in the water level in rivers such as Brahmaputra and Barak. A few rivers are already flowing above the danger mark, officials said.
The Northern Frontier Railway has cancelled or diverted several trains due to waterlogging on the tracks in various parts of Assam.
Three districts in Barak Valley continue to remain disconnected for more than a month as railway tracks in various parts of Dima Hasao have been washed away. The ongoing downpour has further delayed the restoration work in the area, officials said.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued forecast for very heavy rain likely to occur at isolated places over Cachar, Chirang, Darrang, Dhemaji, Kamrup, Karimganj, Kokrajhar, Karbi-Anglong, Lakhimpur, Morigaon, Nagaon, Hojai, Nalbari, Tinsukia and Udalguri district in the next 24 hours.
In Meghalaya, four persons were killed in South Garo Hills district on Friday. Three fatalities were reported in Baghmara while one in Siju.
A communiqué issued by the state disaster management authority said 85 people from five villages were injured and displaced due to the heavy downpour or landslides in West Garo Hills, Ri-Bhoi, and West Khasi Hills.
In Tripura, no deaths or injuries were reported even as heavy rainfall continued across the state on Friday.
(Inputs by Biswa Kalyan Purukayastha, David Laitphlang, Priyanka Deb Barman)
