Home ›› 19 Jun 2022 ›› Front
The death toll from the deadly floods and landslides caused by incessant rains for the past few days in the northeastern Indian states of Assam and Meghalaya has surged to 74 as more deaths including those of children were recorded anew.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an orange alert, warning the authorities to be prepared to tackle intense rainfall, till Saturday.
The two states received 125% above normal rainfall between June 8 and June 15. Such an adverse situation was also reported in West Bengal and Sikkim, for which a fresh warning of heavy to very heavy rainfall was issued on Saturday afternoon.
Landslides and a rise in water-level in rivers are also feared in the northern part of West Bengal over the weekend.
Meanwhile, Sikkim urged tourists not to visit some of the popular destinations in the northern parts of the Himalayan state. Recurring bouts of downpour since Tuesday evening also led to landslides at a number of locations in Sikkim and flooded some areas in Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar and Cooch Behar districts of West Bengal on Thursday.
The Assam administration has set up 605 relief camps across 373 districts, which are currently housing over 1.08 lakh citizens impacted by the floods. Besides these, 235 relief distribution centres are operational in the state.
In Meghalaya, 13 new fatalities took the total body count to 19 on Friday. The state’s Mawsynram and Cherrapunji areas received record rainfall since 1940, officials said.
