Houses wrecked, towns cut off: How Arunachal, Assam fight raging floods

How Arunchal Pradesh is dealing with the flood situation

An Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopter had to be deployed after four people were stranded on an island in Sisiri River in Lower Dibang Valley district. Roing-Anini road was also severely damaged by the rains, with flash floods washing away roads and bridges at several locations.

Eight major road stretches in East Siang, were blocked, severing Yagrung, Tekang, and Sibut villages from Pasighat.

Floodwaters inundate low-lying areas and villages in Jonai following heavy rainfall, in Arunachal Pradesh, in Dhemaji on Monday. (ANI videograb)

A cloudburst led to flash floods in Ledum and Korang villages under Ruksin subdivision, submerging three houses and damaging 11 others. Rema Bridge collapsed while Bokrang Bridge was damaged. As many as 40 people were rescued from the flood-hit areas by the joint efforts of the state and local volunteers and shifted to safer locations.

Relief camps and emergency operation centres have been set up, multiple agencies deployed for restoration work at severely affected areas, and schools ordered to remain shut till Tuesday, following IMD’s red alert.

Only two of the 11 major roads hit by the rain fury have been reopened, while nine, including the Pasighat-Pangin, Pasighat-Mariyang-Yingkiong, Pasighat-Mebo-Dambuk-Bomjir, Bilat-Ledum and Pasighat-Yagrung-Ledum-Tene roads, continue to be blocked or unsafe. The left-side approach route to Letong Bridge on the Pasighat-Runne-Takilalung road has been swept away.

A view of the broken path after a cloudburst led to a flash flood, causing extensive destruction at NEEPCO Colony (on June 24), in Potin on Friday. The Potin area still remains cut off from nearby areas. (ANI videograb)

A massive landslide blocked the flow of Siji River near Likabali checkpost, causing water to accumulate upstream.

Other regions that faced the wrath of the rain fury are Leparada, Keyi Panyor, Papum Pare, Kra Daadi, Kurung Kumey, Lower Subansiri, Kamle, Upper Subansiri, East Siang, Leparada, and Anjaw districts.

How Assam is battling the deluge

Among the 45,000 people affected by the floods in Assam, 41,000 are suffering in the worst-hit Dhemaji, followed by Dibrugarh with close to 4,000 people and Chirang with almost 800 people. Apart from these, Lakhimpur and Nalbari districts were also reeling under a deluge.

According to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) report, one person was swept away by waters at Jonai sub-division in Dhemaji district. As many as 257 villages are standing under water, and 4,278.52 hectares of crop areas across Assam have been damaged. Over 76,161 domestic animals and poultry were also affected by the widespread flooding.

People carry cattle on a makeshift boat at the flood affected village of Jinoi, in Dhemaji on Monday. (ANI Photo)

Roads, bridges, embankments, and other infrastructure have been severely hit by flood waters. The Disang river has breached the danger mark at Nanglamuraghat.

The administration has set up 12 relief camps and relief distribution centres in two districts, currently caring for 655 displaced people.  As much as 519.8 quintals of rice, 93.52 quintals of dal, 28.2 quintals of salt and 2,815.57 litres of mustard oil have been distributed among the flood victims in the last 24 hours.

Flash Floods in Himachal Pradesh

In Himachal, the Manali-Leh highway was closed following flash floods after the melting snow from the mountain peaks caused the water level in the Jhalma nallah to swell. About a dozen villages were cut off from the district headquarters in Lahaul and Spiti district after the road towards the same was obstructed by debris collected by the floodwaters, the locals told PTI. The Jobrang bridge is also inundated.

Rain in Navi Mumbai this morning. (Express Photo: Amit Chakravarty)

Rains lash Navi Mumbai

Rains lashed Navi Mumbai this morning. The IMD had earlier sounded a yellow alert for the city, marking a possibility of heavy showers at isolated places. Mumbai, however, witnessed moderate rainfall in past 24 hours, ending at 8 am. The eastern suburbs clocked the highest average rainfall of 40.62 mm, followed by the island city (26.03 mm) and the western suburbs (22.47 mm), the weather department said.

Check where else it is going to rain today. (Source: IMD)

Where else will it rain this week?

# Rajasthan braces for moderate to heavy rains this week, expecting a relief from the heat.

# Conditions are favourable for southwest monsoons to advance into parts of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, and Bihar.

# Mumbai gears up for intensified rains, with the IMD predicting heavy precipitation, along with thunderstorms, in the city and its suburbs on Tuesday.