News Analysis India

Tag: Flood

  • Flood situation in Assam improves as water level of most rivers recede 

    By PTI

    GUWAHATI: The flood situation in Assam improved considerably on Friday with waters receding in most rivers even as over 5 lakh people continued to suffer in the deluge in ten districts of the state, an official bulletin said.

    The toll due to flood and landslides remained at 30 with no reports of any death in the last 24 hours, as per the bulletin issued by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA).

    Kopili in Morigaon district was the only river flowing above the danger mark, it said.

    At least 5,00,852 persons are suffering due to the floods in Cachar, Dima Hasao, Goalpara, Golaghat, Hailakandi, Hojai, Kamrup, Kamrup (Metro), Morigaon and Nagaon districts.

    Nagaon is the worst affected with over 3.11 lakh people affected, followed by Cachar with nearly 1.47 lakh persons and Morigaon with more than 41,036 people suffering.

    More than 62,289 people have taken shelter in 201 relief camps, with the highest of 47,749 people displaced in Cachar, the ASDMA said.

    An Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) visited the flood-affected areas of Cachar and Darrang districts during the day to assess the damage.

    At present, 799 villages are still under water and 35,384.12 hectares of crop areas have been damaged.

    Massive erosions were reported from Dhubri, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Nalbari, Sivasagar, South Salmara, Tinsukia and Udalguri districts.

    Embankments, roads, bridges and other infrastructure were damaged by floodwaters in Cachar, Udalguri, Dhubri, Karimganj, Nagaon, Nalbari, Dima Hasao, Goalpara and Hojai, the ASDMA said.

  • Flood situation grim in Assam as two more people die, 5.61 lakh suffer

    By PTI

    GUWAHATI: The flood situation in Assam remained critical on Thursday with two more persons, including a child, losing their lives and over 5.61 lakh people still suffering in the deluge across seven districts, as per an official bulletin.

    According to the daily flood report of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), one person each died in Kampur and Raha of Nagaon district.

    With this, the total number of people losing their lives in this year’s flood and landslides has reached 30.

    ASDMA said more than 5,61,100 persons are hit by the flood in Cachar, Dima Hasao, Hailakandi, Hojai, Karbi Anglong West, Morigaon and Nagaon districts.

    Nagaon is the worst hit with over 3.68 lakh people suffering, followed by Cachar with nearly 1.5 lakh persons and Morigaon with more than 41,000 people affected.

    Till Tuesday, over 5.75 lakh people were affected in the deluge across nine districts of the state.

    An Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) reached Guwahati on Thursday and interacted with the Revenue and Disaster Management Department and ASDMA officials for damage assessment of the flood and landslides in the state.

    To accelerate an effective damage assessment, IMCT members will be divided into two groups for visiting the relevant affected districts, ASDMA said in a statement.

    The first group will visit Cachar and Dima Hasao districts, while the second group will go to Darrang, Nagaon and Hojai, it added.

    At present, 956 villages are under water and 47,139.12 hectares of crop area has been damaged across Assam, ASDMA said.

    The authorities are running 365 relief camps and distribution centres in six districts, where 66,836 people, including 13,988 children, are taking shelter.

    So far, 1,243.65 quintals of rice, dal and salt, 5,075.11 litres of mustard oil, 300 quintals of cattle feed and other flood relief items have been distributed.

    Massive erosions were reported from Dhubri, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Nalbari, Sivasagar, South Salmara, Tinsukia and Udalguri districts.

    Embankments, roads, bridges and other infrastructure have been damaged by flood waters in Cachar, Udalguri, Dhubri, Karimganj, Nagaon, Nalbari, Dima Hasao, Goalpara and Hojai, ASDMA said.

    A total of 1,88,698 domestic animals and poultry have been affected in the deluge across nine districts, ASDMA said.

    Brahmaputra’s tributary Kopili at Dharamtul is flowing above the danger mark, the bulletin stated.

  • Maharashtra: At least 112 dead in rain fury as landslides and floods leave trail of destruction

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: The death toll from the torrential rains that battered Maharashtra’s Pune and Konkan divisions over the last three days and triggered landslides in some areas rose to 112 on Saturday, including 52 in the coastal Raigad district alone, the state government said in a release.

    As many as 1,35,313 people have been shifted to safer places including 78,111 in Western Maharashtra’s Sangli district followed by 40,882 in Kolhapur district.

    The Krishna river in Sangli and Panchganga in Kolhapur are in flood though the rains have subsided, officials said.

    As people in flood-hit towns such as Chiplun, Khed and Mahad in Konkan struggled to come to terms with the disaster, the challenge before the administration is to restore water and electricity supply and arrange food and medicines in affected areas.

    As many as 41 bodies have been recovered at Taliye village in Raigad where a landslide struck on Thursday.

    Several others are still missing, Deputy Inspector General of Police (Konkan) Sanjay Mohite told PTI.

    The India Meteorology Department (IMD) said rainfall intensity along the west coast was expected to decrease over the next 24 hours.

    Between July 21 and 24, Raigad district reported 52 deaths, followed by Ratnagiri (21), Satara (13) and Thane (12).

    Kolhapur reported seven deaths, Mumbai four, Sindhudurg two and Pune one, the release said.

    A total of 99 people are missing in these areas, including 53 in Raigad, 27 in Satara, 14 in Ratnagiri, three in Thane and one each in Sindhudurg and Kolhapur.

    At least 53 people were injured in rain-related incidents.

    As many as 3,221 cattle also perished, including 3,024 in Satara district and 115 in Ratnagiri, the official release said.

    The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has deployed 34 teams for rescue operations in the state, its spokesperson said.

    Besides, teams of local administration and the Army are engaged in rescue and relief work.

    In Satara district, at least 13 bodies have been recovered from the sites of landslide at Ambeghar and Dhokawale villages, collector Shekhar Singh said.

    The landslides had occurred on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday.

    President Ram Nath Kovind called Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari during the day and expressed his concern over the loss of life and property in the state due to rains and floods.

    Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh each will be given to the kin of the victims, while the Central government has announced Rs 2 lakh each.

    Besides, ration kits including rice, pulses and kerosene will be distributed in affected areas, he said.

    The Maharashtra government was coordinating with the neighbouring Karnataka to ensure timely release of water from Almatti dam so as to ease the floods in the Kolhapur district which is upstream of the reservoir, he said.

    As landslides proved fatal in many parts of the state, the government would come up with a plan to permanently relocate people living in hilly areas, said Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.

    He was speaking to reporters at Taliye village, the site of the deadliest landslide.

    “People living on hill slopes and hilly areas would be shifted and relocated.

    A plan would be made to shift small settlements from such places,” he said.

    Two more landslides took place in the Raigad district, while three took place in Satara district including the one at Ambeghar village.

    “Flooding is witnessed in Western Maharashtra during monsoon due to rise in water level of rivers.

    Hence, a policy would be formulated for the management of water in this region,’” the chief minister added.

    “You will be taken care of. Don’t worry,” Thackeray told the villagers.

    In Ratnagiri district, towns of Chiplun and Khed were among the worst-affected by the floods.

    “Schools as well as some private properties are being used as shelters as well as primary treatment centres for the injured. The real challenge is identifying and tracing missing people,” a senior official of the NDRF said.

    State minister Uday Samant said water has receded from some areas of Chiplun town, but some parts are still inundated.

    The topography of Chiplun town is like a bowl, said a district official.

    “In the past, locals have seen roads going under water when it rains heavily. But this time it was different. In many places, the water level was higher than 14 feet, submerging entire houses,” he said.

  • Godavari districts on alert with increasing flood levels in the river

    By Express News Service
    VIJAYAWADA: Flood level in the Godavari river at Polavaram cofferdam is steadily increasing with copious inflows from upstream following heavy rains in Maharashtra and Telangana region. On Saturday morning, a first-level warning was issued at Bhadrachalam in Telangana state, upstream of the Polavaram project with flood levels crossing 43 feet 

    With their villages getting inundated in floodwater from the Godavari, people in villages of Devipatnam in East Godavari, Polavaram, Velerupadu, and Kukunoor mandals in West Godavari are being shifted to relief camps. The famous Gandi Pochamma temple in Devipatnam was submerged and only its Gopuram is now visible over water. 

    According to water resources department officials, with the cofferdam of Polavaram constructed, the water is flowing reverse before flowing straight again, which is one reason for increasing flood levels at Devipatnam and other mandals located upstream of the Polavaram project. In fact, water is being let downstream through the spillway

    According to Dowleswaram head works Executive Engineer, G Srinivasa Rao, the flood water discharged through Sir Arthur Cotton Barrage on Saturday morning was 3,26,085 cusecs and it is likely to increase further in next two days. At Polavaram cofferdam, flood levels crossed 30 meters and is likely to touch 33 meters by Sunday morning. 

    In wake of increasing flood levels, a high alert has been sounded in 373 villages located along the River course in East Godavari district. According to Rampachodavaram sub collector Katta Simhachalam 32 villages were facing submergence threat from flood water and measures are being taken to shift the displaced persons to shelter centers. Chintur ITDA Project Officer Venkata Ramana said  there are 233 villages in 4 mandals Kunavaram, VR Puram,Chintur, and Yetapaka mandals are facing flood threat.

    Eight villages 15 mandals of Amalapuram revenue division,  six villages in two mandals of Ramachandrapuram revenue division and four villages of four mandals in Rajamahendravaram revenue division or flood porn. 

    As many as 137 rehabilitation centers have been set up in the district. Around 650 boats, mechanized boats, and launches were readied to shift the people to safe places.  NDRF and SDRF forces are on standby to tackle any eventuality.

    Meanwhile, inflows to the Srisailam project in Kurnool and Prakasam barrage in Vijayawada continue to increase, with heavy rains in upper catchment areas of the Krishna river in Maharashtra and Karnataka.

  • Punjab CM sanctions Rs 130 crore for flood protection works

    By ANI
    CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Wednesday sanctioned Rs 130 crore for the execution of various flood protection works across the state and directed the irrigation and revenue departments to ensure their completion before the onset of the monsoon season.

    Chairing a meeting of the State Flood Control Board through video conferencing, the Punjab Chief Minister ordered to place Rs 10 crore at the disposal of the Deputy Commissioners of flood-prone districts to deal with any emergent situation arising due to heavy rains or floods.

    The Chief Minister directed the District Commissioners (DC) of the flood-prone districts to prioritize their tasks and submit the list of projects requiring immediate attention to the finance department for sanctioning of the funds.

    He also directed the DCs to undertake desilting and cleaning of drains in consultation with the Water Resources Department. He said all such works should be taken up immediately and it should be ensured that they are completed before the onset of the monsoon seasons.

    The Chief Minister also asked the officers to ensure timely and proper cleaning of city drains to prevent waterlogging in urban areas.

    Reviewing the status of reservoirs and dams in the state, the Chief Minister expressed concern over the existing low levels of water, which, he said, was the lowest in the past 40 years.

    Chief Secretary Vini Mahajan underscored the need to carry out the necessary works with a holistic approach and also explore the possibility of executing works under MGNREGA and other Government Schemes.

    The meeting was informed by Financial Commissioner (Revenue) Viswajeet Khanna that Rs 130 crore had been earmarked in the Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) to meet any exigency arising out of floods, thereby providing relief to the affected people as compensation in lieu of damage caused to the standing crops, houses, cattle, besides the loss to life and property. 

  • Flood situation in Jaipur, Meteorological Department issued red alert

    Jaipur: After the first monsoon rains in the state, the situation in the capital Jaipur has started deteriorating. Water is flooded everywhere in Jaipur. The lower areas have drowned. Vehicles have stopped due to water filling the roads. After the morning rains in Jaipur, more than 4 inches of rain has been recorded.

    At the same time, the Meteorological Department has issued a red alert for heavy rains in Jaipur, Ajmer. Also, Orange alert has been issued in 20 districts of the state. According to the Meteorological Department, an alert of heavy rain has been issued in Jaipur in the next three events. With this, NDRF teams from Ajmer have been sent to Jaipur.

    About 4 inches of water is rained in Jaipur in three hours. Due to heavy rains, water has been flooded everywhere. Due to water filler, there has been jam at every place. Many two-wheelers were washed away due to the strong currents of water. Trains have stopped on the beach road due to the filling of water. Things have started deteriorating in Jaipur’s Ramganj and Johri Bazaar. In three hours flood conditions have been created in the boundary wall. The houses have been flooded for about 3 feet. Chattan has fallen due to rain on the Ramgarh road, Delhi Road, after which the administration has closed the way. Flood situation has also been created in Galtaji. Disaster teams are reaching the spot. About 13 teams of civil defense have reached different places. 

    Apart from this, the car has been hit by 22 warehouse wall collapses. A piece of the Central Park wall has collapsed. Jai Singhpura Khor dam is also reported to have broken the wall. Pictures of waterfalls flowing from the mountains are coming out. The Statue Circle of Jaipur is also full of water. The District Collector has appealed to the people to stay at home.