Northeast: 27 dead as rains, floods & waterlogging disrupt life

Guwahati/Itanagar: At least 27 people, including women and children died in six northeastern states while normal life in the region was badly affected for the second consecutive days on Saturday due to moderate to heavy rain triggered by a depression in the Bay of Bengal, officials said on Saturday.

Officials of the different northeastern states said that the 27 people died in 24 hours due to landslides, house collapse, drowning and heavy rain-related calamities.

Out of 27 victims, nine died in Arunachal Pradesh, six in Meghalaya, five each in Assam and Mizoram, and one each in Tripura and Nagaland.

In Arunachal Pradesh, seven people, including two women and two children, were killed in a massive landslide on National Highway-13 in Arunachal Pradesh’s East Kameng district amid heavy rains.

An official said that a vehicle carrying seven people was swept away by a massive landslide between the Bana-Seppa stretch of NH-13 in East Kameng district and plunged into a gorge.

The Maruti car was moving towards Seppa when the rain-triggered landslide struck it on Friday night. The rescue team later recovered the bodies. The Bana-Seppa route is widely regarded as one of the most landslide-prone corridors in Arunachal Pradesh, especially during the monsoon season (June to September).

Arunachal Pradesh Home Minister and local MLA Mama Natung, and Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju deeply condoled the deaths.

In a separate incident in Lower Subansiri district, two labourers were killed and two others rescued after a landslide struck a cabbage farm near the Pine Groove area along the Ziro-Kamle road.

In Assam, five persons have been killed in landslides in Kamrup Metropolitan district in the last 24 hours as incessant rain has led to floods in six districts, affecting over 10,000 people.

The Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said all five deaths have been reported from the Kamrup Metropolitan district.

As per the Regional Meteorological Department, Chirang, Baksa, Barpeta, Bongaigaon, Bajali, Tamulpur, Darrang, and Udalguri districts are on ‘red alert’ for Saturday.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had said that the ‘red alert’ was sounded in 18 districts on Friday, with the state facing an ‘abnormal situation’ due to incessant rains caused by massive cloud cover over several parts of the northeast.

Officials said that major parts of the Guwahati-Shillong road, one of the vital roads in the city, remained waterlogged, triggering heavy traffic congestion in most parts of the commercial city.

In Mizoram, one person died in Serchhip district and three Myanmar refugees were killed at Vaphai village in Champhai district due to a house collapse. One person died and another was injured as a wall collapsed at Thuampui in Mizoram’s Aizawl on Friday after incessant rains during the past 24 hours.

Disaster Management and Rehabilitation Minister Lalnilawma announced that the government plans to provide ex gratia payments of Rs four lakh to the kin of citizens who have lost their lives due to the natural disaster.

In Meghalaya, six persons, including an elderly woman and a minor, died in Meghalaya’s East Khasi Hills district following heavy rain in the past 24 hours.

A 50-year-old woman died in Lumkyntung village due to a landslide, while a 35-year-old man drowned in Pomlakrai Mawbynna as incessant rain submerged the area. Another death was reported from Mawkynrew Block when a tree fell on a 15-year-old boy.

Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma has announced compensation of Rs 4 lakh to the next of kin of the victims.

In Nagaland, a rockfall incident on National Highway-29 at the Pagala Pahar stretch in Chumoukedima district claimed the life of a truck driver on Friday after rocks and sludge fell on the moving truck.

In Tripura, a 16-year-old child, Tanmoy Debnath, drowned while fishing in a pond after incessant rains at Jirania in West Tripura district on Friday.

Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla on Saturday visited various flood-affected areas of Imphal city. He went around different locations on the banks of the Imphal River, assessing its overall condition.

The Governor was accompanied by the Chief Secretary, Commissioner (Home), Superintendent of Police (Imphal East), and other senior officials. During the visit, the Governor instructed the officials to monitor the river situation closely and to implement preemptive measures.

Further, directions have been given to Deputy Commissioners to arrange evacuation and temporary relief measures for affected people. SDRF and NDRF units have also been alerted. Due to the rain since Thursday, a large number of houses were damaged, and around a lakh people took shelter in relief camps in different northeastern states.

Moderate to heavy rains, flash floods, and landslides also affected life in all the northeastern states. Due to the rains and landslides, road communications were severely affected in many districts of the northeastern states.

An advisory from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said that the deep depression over the northwest Bay of Bengal off West Bengal-Bangladesh coasts moved nearly northwards and crossed West Bengal-Bangladesh coasts, causing heavy rains in most northeastern states.

All the northeastern states deployed a huge contingent of National and state disaster response forces, volunteers and state security personnel to undertake rescue and relief operations.

IANS