Heavy rains affected normal life in various north and northeastern states, cut road and rail links and forced evacuation of thousands of people from their inundated houses to safer areas, particularly in Assam and Bihar, officials said yesterday.
While 15 people have been killed in floods and landslides and over 4.6mn have been affected in Assam, 24 deaths have been reported from north Bihar, which is facing a serious flood situation as water levels of rivers in the area continue to rise.
In the northeast, the situation was also grave in Tripura and Mizoram where incessant rains have cut the two states off from the rest of the country and led to thousands of people taking shelter in relief camps.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday spoke to Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal over phone and took stock of the ongoing flood situation in the state. He also assured all help to the state, according to a statement from the chief minister’s office.
An official of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority said that 4,175 villages, with 4.6mn people, have been affected due to the floods, as of yesterday afternoon, while close to 90,000 hectares of agricultural lands are inundated.
The government has pressed the National Disaster Response Force and State Disaster Response Force to help the marooned people in different districts while the army has been called in to assist the civil administration in relief and rescue operations.
Over 1mn animals have also been affected. Almost 90% of the Kaziranga National Park has been submerged and authorities are taking various measures, including speed restrictions on NH 37 which touches the park, to save animals as they head to higher ground.
In Tripura and Mizoram, over 22,000 people have been shifted to relief camps and other safer places due to flooding of low-lying areas and villages by uninterrupted rains over the past three days, officials said yesterday.
Train services between the states and the rest of the country have been affected due to rain and landslides, while water, electricity and telephone services were also hit.
The India Meteorological Department director Dilip Saha said the situation is expected to improve from today.
According to officials at the Tripura Disaster Control Centre, over 17,000 people have taken shelter in 64 relief camps on the outskirts of Agartala and four other districts – Khowai, Unokoti, Gomati and south Tripura.
In Mizoram, over 5,000 people have taken shelter in safer places in different districts as major rivers and their tributaries submerged over 500 houses and low-lying areas.
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