Eight dead in floods across country

Floods claimed eight more lives across the country on Monday even as the weatherman predicted downpours in several states, which may compound the situation in deluge-ravaged areas.

Torrential rain battered Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and some parts of Odisha, where flash floods had claimed one life on Sunday. The floods in Assam claimed five more lives, even as the overall situation improved marginally with around eight  lakh people affected across 17 districts in the state.

Three persons lost their lives in Morigaon district of central Assam. One each died in Goalpara and Golaghat districts, the Assam State Disaster Management Authority’s report said. With this, the total number of people killed in this year’s floods has gone up to 65, including eight in Guwahati.

Two more rain-related deaths were reported from Gujarat. The toll due to torrential rain now stands at 11, officials of the State Emergency Operations Centre said.

Rain lashed several parts of the state, especially southern part, over the last 24 hours. Umergam and Kaprada taluka of Valsad district received 99 mm and 98 mm of rainfall, respectively.

A man was swept away by flash floods triggered by a cloudburst in Chama district of Himachal Pradesh as rain lashed many other parts of the state.

Banjar, which received 77 mm of rain since Sunday, was the wettest place in the state followed by Nahan 73 mm, Salooni 46 mm, Palampur 45 mm, Dharamsala 37 mm, Baijnath 35 mm, Bhoranj 34 mm and Kheri 27 mm, the Met department said.

Odisha situation
Relief and rescue operations gained pace following improvement in the situation in Rayagada and Kalahandi districts of Odisha where flash floods claimed one life and left thousands of people marooned.

The district administration of Rayagada has declared closure of schools and colleges for three days in Kalyansinghpur block in view of the floods.

The deluge severely affected train services on the Rayagada-Titlagarh section as a railway bridge between Theruvali and Singapur Road railway stations was washed away. Meanwhile, two persons were killed after lightning struck them in Ganjam district.