Rains lash north, east India; flood toll 31, lightning kills 27

New Delhi, July 31: Rains lashed northern and eastern parts of the country aggravating the flood situation in Assam, Meghalaya, Bihar and West Bengal, where 31 people have died, and crippling normal life in Delhi and Gurgaon, while lightning strikes in Odisha claimed 27 lives.

Floods in Assam have killed 26 people and affected nearly 37 lakh people across more than 3,300 villages in 28 districts of the state, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said.

According to official reports, flood waters have risen following heavy rainfall in the upper catchment areas of Arunachal Pradesh and Bhutan as well as in the state.

In Meghalaya, at least three people were killed and two went missing as flood waters submerged the West Garo Hills district today, an official said.

Even as the back flow of Brahmaputra and Jinjiram rivers has gone down marginally, many villages were inundated due to incessant rainfall.

In Bihar, many rivers are flowing above danger level, as flood continued to wreak havoc, affecting 26.19 lakh people. Two more districts of East Champaran and Muzaffarpur were declared today as flood-hit.

PTI