As many as 15 people have died in rain-related mishaps in the past 24 hours, including seven in a house collapse. While the MeT department had predicted more showers and sounded heavy downpour alert for some districts in the next 24 hours, Army and administration are working round-the-clock in Rewa and Satna districts, where maximum losses have been reported.
The authorities have enlisted the help of the Army and called for helicopters to be used for rescuing people marooned by floods. Three IAF aircraft dropped food packets and medicines in flooded areas of Rewa district, Collector Rahul Jain said, adding that there was no casualty and the district was limping back to normalcy following a pause in the rains.
Seven people, including a woman and four minors, were killed and three others were injured when a house collapsed early on Sunday in Rahatgarh area of Sagar district.
Two people, including an elderly woman were killed and seven injured this noon when a newly-constructed building collapsed amid incessant rains at Maihar, Satna district. A jeep carrying two persons was swept away in the swollen Betwa River as it tried to cross a bridge in Raisen district. Three bodies were found from a nullah this afternoon in Chhattarpur district. The victims were in a car which was washed off a bridge on the nullah last evening.
Aneesh, a three-year-old boy, was killed on Saturday when a thatched house collapsed in Bahoriband tehsil in Katni district. In Rahatgarh area of Sagar district, thatched house of Mehtab Shilpkar (59) collapsed amid heavy rains around 2 am on Sunday, Additional SP Vivek Agrawal said.
According to official statement, 34 villages of Rewa and Rewa city, 62 villages of Satna and 41 villages of Panna districts were highly impacted in the excess rain and flooding. About 6,000 people had to be rescued by three teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), 12 teams of State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and the Army. Relief camps were being run in all three districts with over 6,000 people taking refuge in them.
As on August 20, Madhya Pradesh has received 32 per cent excess rainfall. The state should have received 671.1mm of rain from June 1 till now, but received 886.8mm rain. East MP received 33 per cent excess rain (986.1mm in place of 740.8mm) while West MP received 31 per cent excess rainfall (810.6mm rain in place of 617.5mm).
Bhopal has received as much as 1209.8mm in place of 690mm expected rain – 75 per cent excess. The highest excess of 95 per cent has been recorded in Panna district, while Satna has received 94 per cent excess rain.
In Maihar town of Satna district, a newly built, three-storey building with construction workers' families living in it collapsed amid heavy rain on Saturday, burying many people under the rubble, police said. Four people have so far been pulled out of the rubble; many more are feared trapped and efforts are being made to rescue them, the police said. The building was constructed by Madhya Pradesh Housing Board, a state government agency.
The government has also been setting up relief camps in safer places for people in flood-hit areas to find shelter in, he said.