GUWAHATI:
Thunderstorms in Assam and rain-induced landslips in Arunachal Pradesh have killed at least 20 people over the last 72 hours.
Officials in Arunachal Pradesh’s Kurung Kumey district said three members of a family were buried alive following a landslide in Sulung Taping village. The victims included an eight-year-old boy.
“It has been raining heavily since April 17 and landslides have cut off the district headquarters besides disrupting the supply of water and electricity,” the district’s Deputy Commissioner, Bengia Nighee, said.
Many houses and office buildings in Koloriang, the district headquarters, have either been damaged or are placed precariously.
Many small towns in the Anjaw district have also been cut off because of roadblocks triggered by heavy rainfall. Many streams are overflowing, adding to the difficulty in clearing the debris from vital roads, officials said.
In Assam, thunderstorms killed three people — one each in Dhemaji, Morigaon and Jorhat district — on Monday night. This took the death toll since April 16 to 17.
An Assam State Disaster Management Authority spokesperson said rain and thunderstorms have so far affected 39,799 people across 797 villages in Assam. A total of 314 houses have been fully damaged and 8,915 others partially damaged.
At least 2,000 houses have also been damaged in thunderstorms in Meghalaya. There are no reports of any loss of human life in that State.
According to the Regional Meteorological Centre in Guwahati, Assam is likely to experience light to moderate rainfall and thunder squalls with wind speed of up to 50 kmph within the next 24 hours.
