Arunachal flood toll rises to 11 as labourer dies in wall collapse, 938 affected in 23 districts

Itanagar: The death toll in floods and landslides triggered by relentless rain in Arunachal Pradesh has increased to 11 as a labourer died in a wall collapse incident in Anjaw district, officials said on Tuesday.

According to a State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) statement, while 38-year-old Bhaben Murmu died when a wall collapsed during a landslide on June 1, three GREF workers were injured in the incident.

A total of 938 people are now affected by floods in 156 villages in 23 districts, it said.

Lower Subansiri district reported significant damage, including the destruction of 114 kutcha houses, 45 pucca houses, and nine huts. The district has also seen serious infrastructure losses, including the damage of 51 roads, 17 power lines, 23 water supply lines and two schools, officials said.

Widespread destruction has also been reported in the Itanagar Capital Region (ICR) and Pakke Kessang, where key assets such as ICR's main water pipeline and the road at Dariya Hill have been severely affected.

Flood-like conditions and landslides have been reported in multiple districts, including West Kameng, Kamle, Lower and Upper Subansiri, Papum Pare, Dibang Valley, Lower Dibang Valley, Lohit, Changlang, Kra Daadi, Kurung Kumey, and Longding, as rivers and tributaries continued to flow above danger levels, they said.

The floods and landslides have damaged around 15 hectares of crop fields, eight hectares of horticulture plantations, and seven hectares of agricultural land.

In Changlang district, flash floods from the Buri-Dihing River washed away half of the Makantong bridge on the Trans-Arunachal Highway on Saturday, cutting off road connectivity between Miao and Bordumsa. Large areas in the Miao subdivision are submerged, with significant loss of livestock and horticultural property.

Popular tourist spots like Zupra and River Cafe along the Noa-Dehing River have also been submerged. The Industrial Training Institute (ITI) at Balinong, under Kharsang circle, suffered massive damage, with hostels, staff quarters, water tanks, and other infrastructure destroyed, they added.

The Noa-Dehing River has further eroded large tracts of agricultural and horticultural land in Dharmapur block under Namphai circle.

In Upper Subansiri, the water supply system has been badly disrupted after the Hangkar pipeline suffered multiple breaches. Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) teams are working to restore the system while tankers are providing emergency water supply.

Authorities in Namsai district have opened a relief camp at Alubari Government Secondary School, where 59 displaced people are currently being sheltered.

State Disaster Management Secretary Dani Sulu said that relief and rescue operations are ongoing.

So far, 18 people have been evacuated, including 14 labourers who were airlifted from Lower Dibang Valley and four others rescued from Jallukbari village in Lohit district, he added.