Flood claims 16 lives in Bihar, rivers in NE, UP cross red mark

New Delhi, July 25 (UNI) Flood and waterlogging have claimed 16 lives in Bihar so far while flood threats haunt several places in Northeast and Uttar Pradesh with rivers crossing the danger level.

More than ten lakh people remained affected in Bihar as several villages in the northern region were inundated.

According to reports, 14 people met a watery grave in the swollen Ghogha river in Bhagalpur district yesterday while an old man was swept away by the flood water in the Khalkhalia embankment on Chanan river near Puccamool village on Monday.

A two-year-old girl drowned in the waterlogged Rajendranagar area of Patna yesterday.

The embankment on river Punpun, which had already crossed the red mark near Sripalpur in Patna, developed a breach in Masaurhi in Patna district. The water of the river Punpun inundated the villages located on the southern side of the NH-30 in the state capital.

The flood water wreaked havoc in Muzaffarpur district as Aurai block was completely marooned where the normal day-to-day life was paralysed.

The districts worst affected by the flood include Sitamarhi, Madhubani, Supaul, Darbhanga, Bhagalpur, Sheohar, West Champaran, Banka, Muzaffarpur and others.

Besides, a 15-year-old student was killed and 7 others injured after lightning struck a school at village Adgaon, about three km from Nashik today.

Meanwhile, several places in the North East have been ravaged by incessant rains and heavy flood, with Asom's Dhemaji district and Arunachal Pradesh's Lohit district among the worst hit so far.

Road communication in Lohit district had been snapped in various places, due to landslides even as heavy flood in several parts of upper Asom threatened to cut off the district from the rest of the country.

The Brahmaputra was flowing over the red mark in Dibrugarh, Neamtighat in Jorhat, Tezpur and Dhubri. Parts of lower Asom were also inundated by water from neighbouring Bhutan.

With parts of Uttar Pradesh receiving substantial rainfall for the third consecutive day today, turbulent Ghagra and Kuano rivers crossed the danger mark.

The swelling rivers of the Basti district have posed flood threat to 27 villages and affected more than 15,000 locals. Besides, five hectares of crop had been destroyed.

Flood threat haunts almost 70 villages of the Harraiya Tehsil due to sharp rise in the water level in the turbulent Ghagra and Manorama rivers. Besides, 35 villages of the tehsil had been inundated, while seven were facing threat from the Kuano river.

The weathermen have forecast heavy downpour in all divisions of UP in the next 24 hours.

Meanwhile, light to moderate rain lashed many areas in north-west India overnight, providing respite from hot and humid weather conditions in the region.

Monsoon rain lashed isolated areas in Punjab and some areas in Haryana including Rohtak, Panchkula, Ambala.

Moderate rain lashed many areas in Himachal Pradesh, including Kangra, Kullu, Mandi and Chamba districts along with Chandigarh and its adjoining areas last night, giving relief to residents from hot and humid weather conditions.

Parts of Jammu region including Patti and Bhasoli also experienced monsoon showers.

Delhi's tryst with pleasant weather continued for the second day today with the a cool breeze and light rains maintaining the relief from warm and humid weather brought about by rains over the past couple of days.

Weathermen said Delhi and other parts of northwest India could witness fairly widespread rainfall activity over the next four to five days due to the axis of monsoon trough lying close to foothills of Himalayas.

Besides, a sultry day with minimal rainfall kept temperature rising in Kolkata causing discomfort to the people.

Rain occurred at a few places over coastal Andhra Pradesh and Rayalaseema in the past 24 hours. Isolated rain occurred over Telangana region, according to the weather office here.

Very heavy rains are likely to occur at many places in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya, Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim.

Heavy rains are likely to occur at most places in coastal Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshadweep and at many places in Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Gangetic West Bengal, Bihar.

Rain or thundershowers are likely at many places in Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Konkan and Goa and at a few places in Orissa, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and kashmir, east Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha, Chattisgarh, Madhya Maharashtra, Marathwada, coastal Andhra Pradesh, Rayalaseema, Tamil Nadu, interior Karnataka, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and at isolated places in west Rajasthan, Gujarat and Telangana.

UNI