A pedestrian uses a plastic sheet to shield himself during rains.
Credit: PTI File Photo
Guwahati: One person died and another was injured in Mizoram's capital, Aizawl, on Friday morning due to a landslide triggered by heavy and incessant rainfall that pounded most parts of the Northeastern region in the past 24 hours.
Schools remained shut for the second day on Friday in hilly Aizawl, while the Assam government decided to close the schools in Kamrup and Kamrup Metro (Guwahati) on Saturday.
The Assam government also decided to give a special casual leave to most of its employees and appealed to the private organisations to cut staff on Saturday in view of the weather forecast about heavy rains.
Guwahati flooded:
Normal life was severely affected in Guwahati due to flash floods caused by heavy rains and water coming down the hills of neighbouring Meghalaya. Commuters remained stranded at Jorabat along the Assam-Meghalaya border due to the accumulation of muddy water on the highway.
The rains triggered landslides at three places in Guwahati, but there were no casualties. "I urge people not to move out of their homes in Guwahati unless it is urgent. According to the weather bulletin, the situation is likely to remain the same till 2 pm tomorrow. This is an unusual situation, and normally we witness such a situation due to the Monsoon after June 10," Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told reporters in Guwahati on Friday. He said a flood situation prevailed in West Karbi Anglong district, and NDRF and SDRF personnel were ready for any necessary rescue efforts.
Commuters in Guwahati had a tough time as several locations witnessed waist-deep water. CM said two relief camps were opened in the city's Rukminigaon and Satgaon, two of the worst-affected localities. The ongoing work for the construction of flyovers in at least two places made the situation worse.
Weather alert:
The Regional Meteorological Centre in Guwahati said the rain was due to a depression over neighbouring Bangladesh, which was moving towards north-northeast. Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Mizoram, Manipur and Tripura sounded a red alert in several districts in view of the weather report.