5 State highways & roads of 144 panchayats blocked, rain deficit at 4% now’
From Kerala to Kashmir and from Gujarat to Assam, flood has taken a heavy toll on human lives and properties across the country. Due to incessant rain, five State highways and roads of around 144 village panchayats have been blocked.
According to the Indian Meteorological Department, 12 of the 36 meteorological subdivisions of the country have received excess rainfall till July 16. Interestingly, the country has received 296.6 mm rainfall and there is still a four per cent deficit till date.
The IMD data said Puducherry, Punjab, Mizoram, Vidarbha, Chandigarh, South Karnataka, Jammu & Kashmir, Maharashtra, Telangana, Konkon Goa and Tamil Nadu are among areas which have received excess rainfall since June 1.
In Kerala, rail and road traffic was hit in various parts due to waterlogging as heavy rain continued to pound the State with the South-West monsoon becoming active again. In the second spell of rain due to the South-West monsoon, 11 people have died since July 9, according to the State control room, which is monitoring rain-related incidents. Several low-lying areas are inundated and roads are cut off. As a result more than 3,000 people have been rehabilitated in relief camps.
All educational institutions in eight of the 14 districts were closed on Monday and most of the university examinations were postponed. The worst hit districts include Alappuzha, Idukki, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kottayam, Kollam and Kochi.
In Gujarat, at least 29 people have been killed till July 16 due to recent floods and other rain-related incidents. Teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed at 11 locations in the State. An alert has been sounded in the State and fishermen have been advised not to venture into the sea.
As per reports, South Gujarat region, particularly Valsad, Navsari, Junagarh, Gir Somnath and Amreli districts have been affected the most.
Maharashtra has received 428.5 mm rainfall till date. Mumbai city, Palghar, Raigarh, Ratnagiri, Suburban Mumbai and Thane are among those areas which have received 33 per cent excess rainfall till date. The IMD predicted heavy rainfall will continue to lash the Maximum City.
“In the past 10 days, the city has even exceeded 1,000-mm mark. Mumbai needs just 443 mm of more rain to make a new record, which is not a very big deal for the city during this month,” the IMD said. In the last 18 hours, Mumbai witnessed 80-90mm rain. The city witnessed the highest tide of the season at 4.97 metres. Ahmednagar, Pune and Satara of Madhya Maharashtra have received 248.1 mm rainfall that is seven per cent more than the normal rainfall.
Similarly, latur, Nanded and Osmanabad have recorded 237 mm rainfall which is 20 per cent more than normal rain. Vidarbha area of Maharashtra has received 381 mm rain which is 45 per cent more than the normal rain till date.
In Assam, four districts - Dhemaji, lakhimpur, Biswanath and Nawgaon - are worst affected from flood. More than 25,000 people are affected.
As per data, East and West Godavari, Guntur and Krishna of Coastal Andhra Pradesh have received 187.6 mm rain which is 25 per cent more than normal rain. Around 50 people, who were trapped, were rescued in Andhra Pradesh’s Srikakulam district after floodwaters gushed into a sand reach near Purushothapuram village, as water was released from Gotta Barrage, situated on Vamsadhara river. According to report, 10 trucks carrying 55 people were trapped in floodwaters in Srikakulam after the water levels in the Vamsadhara river rose because of heavy rain in the region. Authorities used boats to reach trucks and rescue the stranded people.
The IMD said that Bangalore Rural, Chitradurga, Hassan, Kodagu, Mysore, Mandhya of south Karnataka are most affected from flood this year. Telangana has also recorded 35 per cent more rainfall till date. Ariyalur, Coimbatore, Pudukkottai, Sivaganga, Tirunelveli, Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu are among those areas which have received excess to large excess rainfall.
Chhattisgarh received moderate to heavy showers, whereas Madhya Pradesh observed light to moderate rain activity wherein Raipur reported 68 mm, Durg 62 mm, Jagdalpur 35 mm, Mandla 32 mm, Khandwa 29 mm, Bilaspur 20 mm, Ambikapur 12 mm and Sagar 11 mm. Many parts of Madhya Pradesh are already dealing with flood conditions, so there will not be any break but an enhancement to the prevailing flood scenario for at least the next 4 to 5 days.