Incessant rains and heavy flooding result in seven more deaths in Andhra Pradesh and three more in West Bengal even as the death toll rises to 60 in Odisha
The ongoing depression in eastern India has resulted in heavy rains in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal.
Seven more people died as heavy rain continued in coastal Andhra Pradesh yesterday. The death toll in the state is now 29.
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Police officials pull a boat through water-logged streets as they ferry residents to a safer place in Kolkata. Persistent rain for the last 24 hours has thrown normal life in this metropolis out of gear. Weathermen predicted that the rain, caused due to a depression off Andhra coast over Bay of Bengal, would continue for at least next 24 hours. Pic/AFP
Incessant rain, on account of the low pressure area over the Bay of Bengal and the vigorous northeast monsoon, has been lashing parts of the state for nearly a week.
The Krishna and Musi Rivers are in spate. Several villages in 16 districts are cut off from the rest of the state. The rains have hit normal life and affected rail and road transport.
The rains have affected around 3,230 villages in 16 districts. Over 72,000 people have been evacuated from low-lying areas and shifted to 178 relief camps. “Heavy to very heavy rain at a few places with extremely heavy rain at isolated places will occur in all the districts of coastal Andhra Pradesh and Telangana during the next 48 hours,” a statement said.
West Bengal
Meanwhile, three people, including a father and son, were killed in house collapses yesterday following heavy overnight rain that lashed the southern districts of West Bengal, including Kolkata, disrupting train and vehicular movement and inundating vast areas, officials said.
Even the entrance to the temporary state secretariat Nabanna at Mandirtala of neighbouring Howrah district went under knee-deep water in the morning.
The seat of government has been shifted to Howrah to facilitate renovation and restoration of the age-old secretariat Writers’ Buildings. “While the city received an average of 105 mm rainfall, Diamond Harbour received the most with 213 mm,” said GC Debnath, director, Regional Meteorological Centre.
Roads and lanes of Kolkata went from ankle deep to chest-deep water. With large parts of the city under water, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is now on a visit to north Bengal, asked Urban Development minister Firhad Hakim to take remedial measures.
Apart from setting up emergency controls in all the four divisions of Kharagpur, Adra, Chakradharpur and Ranchi, patrol teams have been deployed to inspect sensitive locations like bridges.
Odisha
Meanwhile, more rain is expected in Odisha, where the death toll due to cyclone Phailin and subsequent floods in the state went up to 60.
The districts of Nayagarh, Jajpur and Bhadrak reported two deaths each while one casualty was reported from Mayurbhanj district.
The situation remains grim as rains continued to lash many parts of the state for the sixth consecutive day even though water in major rivers was receding.
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