India’s monsoon, though vital for agriculture, regularly brings death and destruction. In the week that ended on 6 July, the rain was 35 percent above average, the weather office said.
After the persisting drought-like condition in large parts of the country, the monsoon this year has already claimed many lives, with torrential rains, flash floods and overflowing rivers.
Madhya Pradesh
Twenty people have been killed in Madhya Pradesh, and 70,000 more rendered homeless, as water rose to dangerous levels along parts of the Narmada river.
Firemen waded through thigh-deep water to rescue women and children in flooded villages while rescue teams used inflatable boats to reach people stranded in urban areas.
Thousands of people will be evacuated today. We are working on a war-footing to set up relief camps. The health department is distributing medicines to prevent outbreak of water-borne diseases.Basant Singh, Additional Home Secretary, Bhopal
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Sunday convened a meeting of top officials to review the situation.
During the meeting, the Chief Minister said all the 51 district collectors should be alert and agile to deal with the flood situation and extend immediate help to the people.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh also spoke with Chouhan to take stock of the flood situation.
Helicopters carried out sorties to provide succour to the flood-hit people in Rewa and Satna districts.
Nashik, Maharashtra
Incessant rains lashed Nashik district in North Maharashtra, with 991 mm rainfall being recorded in just nine hours on Monday, triggering the flooding of the Godavari river and severely affecting normal life.
Four persons were killed on Monday and as many others injured as a house collapsed due to heavy rains in Pachora Bari village in Nandurbar district of North Maharashtra.
A total of 179 houses got damaged due to rains. Moreover, 100 cattle were washed away in flash flood.Ranjit Rajput, Acting District Information Officer, Nandurbur district
The Godavari river, which runs through Nashik, is in full spate and floodwater has submerged many temples located on its banks. The Gangapur dam, the main source of drinking water for the city, is now filled 23 percent.
As per an official statement, people living by the river side in Nashik have been asked to vacate their houses.
On Monday, Kolhapur too was affected by rains.
The district has been receiving incessant rains for three days owing to which 49 ‘Kolhapur Type Weirs’ have come under floodwater and normal life has been disrupted in some rural areas.
Uttarakhand, Assam No Better
Heavy rains and cloudburst in Uttarakhand this year killed at least 40.
The situation in Assam is grim as the state continues to reel under the devastating impact of floods. The Brahmaputra river has submerged 60 percent of the rhino habitat Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary located in Morigaon district near Guwahati.
Tripura, which had been cut-off from the rest of the country for about three months because of heavy rains and flood in neighbouring Assam, and reeling in a crisis of essential commodities and fuel, is slowly limping back to normalcy.
(With inputs from Reuters and PTI.)
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