Fresh floods in Arunachal, rivers in spate in Assam

At least six people died due to rain-related incidents in the northeast, where floods have damaged train tracks, agricultural land and public utilities, while heavy showers in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu severely disrupted normal life.

In Himachal Pradesh, six houses were swept away due to a cloudburst but authorities said there were no casualties. All schools and colleges were shut in Kangra, Mandi, and Sirmaur districts on Tuesday in view of a red alert by the meteorological department for heavy rain. Intermittent rain forced the authorities to shut all educational institutions also in Theog of Shimla, Salooni of Chamba, and Nirmand of Kullu districts.

The old Hindustan-Tibet Road (National Highway 5) was closed for vehicular traffic following landslides at two places in Kinnaur district, officials said. Heavy rains lashed large parts of Jammu region as rescue teams continued their search for seven persons reported missing in the worst-hit Poonch and Rajouri districts.

At least 23 people have died and seven others are missing in rain-related incidents in Poonch, Rajouri and Doda districts since Sunday. In Assam, one person in Charaideo district died due to the floods, taking the toll in such rain-related deaths to 11.

Several major rivers were flowing above the danger level in different parts of the state, with some of the water bodies having breached the “extreme flood” level.

Rescue operations were being carried out by multiple agencies.

Train services remained affected for the second day as floodwaters inundated tracks in parts of Upper Assam, with the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) cancelling, short-terminating or diverting several trains and also announcing special trains for stranded passengers.