Two people have died in flash floods in several parts of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh in the past week, The Indian Express reported on Friday.
According to the Assam Disaster Management Authority, 22,689 people from 118 villages in Dhemaji district have been affected by the floods. “Not all people have been displaced but around 800 people are staying in the three relief camps we have set up,” the newspaper quoted an unidentified official as saying. On Thursday, 22-year-old Bijoy Tanti from Kamalpur village in Dhemaji drowned in floodwaters.
A number of villages in Lakhimpur district have been flooded in the last 24 hours after the North Eastern Electric Power Corporation released water from the Ranganadi dam.
In Arunachal Pradesh’s capital Itanagar, heavy rainfall since Thursday night has caused flash floods in which a three-year-old boy died. Three people are missing, according to officials.
“A small stream which runs here is overflowing,” said Beru Dulom, a field officer of the state’s Disaster Management Authority. “As per our surveys, 29 houses have been damaged and 10 have been washed away completely. A family of four was swept away in Modirijo at 4.30 am today – while the husband swam to safety, the wife and the 10-year-old daughter are missing. We recovered the body of their three-year-old son, Kolam Beyong, a while ago.”
Meanwhile, heavy rain since Sunday has caused landslides in several parts of northern Sikkim, PTI reported. A significant part of NH10 – one of the roads that connects Sikkim with the rest of the country through Kalimpong in West Bengal – was washed away on Thursday, leaving several tourists stranded, Time8 reported.
The landslides have affected Dzongu, Mangan, Lachen and Mangshilla in North district, an official said. The Border Roads Organisation is working on restoring road connectivity in the North district. In Dzongu, many people were relocated after heavy rainfall and landslides left several houses uninhabitable, PTI reported.
The landslides have hampered traffic on highways that link Sikkim’s capital Gangtok with Kalimpong and Siliguri in West Bengal, The Telegraph reported. Kalimpong District Magistrate Vishwanath said incessant downpour has hindered repair work. “As the rains have not stopped, the soil is not firming up. This is why repairs are getting delayed,” Vishwanath added.
North Sikkim District Collector Karma R Bonpo, the sub divisional magistrates of Mangan and Dzongu, and senior police and transport officials have conducted a survey of the affected areas.
A bridge connecting Mangan with Gangtok collapsed due to the heavy rain on Friday, reported ANI.
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