Heavy rain disrupts life in many areas

Several parts of the country struggled to cope with the fallout of the heavy rainfall it has received so far.

Torrential rains have already claimed 110 lives this monsoon in Kerala, which has also suffered rain-related damage of nearly Rs 100 crore, according to preliminary figures from the Revenue Department-run control room.

The local met office said from when the south-west monsoon hit the Kerala coast on June 1 to Monday, the state has received 1,283.6 mm rainfall (48 per cent excess), as against the “normal” rainfall of 869.7 mm.

“The estimated loss is around Rs 98.37 crore. A total of 110 people have died in rain-related incidents, including seven today (on Monday),” a revenue department official told Deccan Herald. Coastal regions in Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode, apart from other districts, including Alappuzha, have reported extensive damage of property.

The Revenue Department has put the total loss of crops at around Rs 79.62 crore. A total of 6,492.15 hectares have been hit. Kottayam (Rs 15.24 crore), Idukki (Rs 14.48 crore) and Ernakulam (Rs 9.34 crore) are the worst-hit.

The state has also suffered infrastructure losses of Rs 15.15 crore and public property damage of Rs 4.38 crore.

The government has announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh to families that lost adult members and Rs 1 lakh to families that lost homes to the rains. The state has also announced Rs 2,000 to each family in relief camps as immediate relief, apart from free ration, food and medicines.

The weather office has also predicted heavy rainfall in parts of southern Odisha over the next 48 hours.

Some southern districts have already registered substantial rainfall over the last 24 hours. Malkangiri district recorded 85 mm of rainfall followed by Koraput district with 14.6 mm. Gopalpur in southern Odisha, Ganjam district also received 3.4 mm of rainfall.

Mumbai, for the past two days, has witnessed a continuous drizzle interspersed with heavy showers.

According to the weather bureau, while heavy rainfall may lash South Konkan-Goa, Greater Mumbai suburbs, Thane and Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhdurg will see downpour in the next 48 hours. South Madhya Pradesh, North Central Maharashtra, Marathwada and Gujarat may also witness heavy rainfall.

Nation-wide

Meanwhile, mild to moderate showers continued in many parts of Rajasthan for the third consecutive day. However, rain continued to elude the western region. The Met office said the south-west monsoon was active in northern and eastern parts of the state, especially in Jaipur, Bharatpur, Ajmer and Kota divisions.

The irrigation department said though the monsoon reached the state about a week in advance, there was a lull over the following days. However it said the monsoon has been quite satisfactory till date in the state.

The Met office said, "Rain or thunder-showers would occur at a few places in east Rajasthan and at isolated places in western part of the state over the next 24 hours.”