67 killed in rain-related mishaps

At least 67 people were killed in floods, landslides and incessant rain in different parts of the country on Friday.

While 31 people were killed in Kerala, six were crushed to death when a godown collapsed in Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu. Seven people died in Dakshina Kannada in Karnataka even as torrential rain claimed 23 lives in Bihar in the last three days.

The Kerala government on Saturday announced that Kasaragod district accounted for the highest number of deaths -- 18.

A report from Malappuram said the bodies of four out of the six people who were washed away by the swollen Manjalapuzha river were recovered on Saturday. Search for the remaining two bodies was continuing. The navy had been requisitioned to undertake rescue operations. Malappuram also reported another death on Friday night.

Kozhikode reported six deaths and Kannur two since Friday morning. No casualty was reported from Palakkad, though torrential rain had affected standing crops and vehicular traffic.

Additional Secretary in-charge of national calamity S Senthil said 14,300 families were evacuated in the four northern districts and were sheltered in relief camps. Reports said more than 300 houses were damaged in the districts.

Senthil said standing crops in 540,000 hectares were damaged on Friday. Banana and paddy crops were the worst hit.

Revenue Minister K E Ismail's office said the government released Rs 25 million for relief and rescue operations in the affected districts.

Meanwhile life came to a grinding halt in Bihar following heavy rain.

Official sources in Patna said that at least 23 people lost their lives in rain-related mishaps.

Sources said heavy downpour has affected over 1.5 million people in Patna, Nalanda, Sitamarhi, Sheo Har, Motihari, Samastipur, Madhubani, Khagaria, Purnea, Kishanganj and Katihar districts.

A report from Biharsharif said 16 people were killed in Hilsa, Sarmera, Ashamabind and Biharsharif blocks in Nalanda district in the past three days.

The report added that the deaths were caused by house crashes, electrocution and snake bites.

More than 350 houses have collapsed following heavy rain in the district. Residents of over 70 villages have taken shelter on the Patna-Hilsa and Biharsharif-Jamui roads.

Telecommunication network, electricity supply and road traffic was disrupted and there were reports of heavy water-logging in residential areas in the state.

Life in Patna has been paralysed since Wednesday with the city virtually turning into a lake. Power and water supply has been disrupted.

Official sources said Patna registered a record rainfall of 425 mm during the last three days. Several rivers in the state are overflowing.

In Coimbatore, six people including two children and two women were crushed to death and two others injured on Friday, when a huge godown collapsed on the city's outskirts.

As for the North-East, the overall flood situation worsened with the mighty Brahmaputra, its tributaries and many other rivers of the region rising above the danger mark. About 400 villages were inundated, afffecting 200,000 people in nine districts of Assam and parts of Tripura, Manipur and Mizoram.

A report from Guwahati said, the swollen Brahmaputra breached its embankment at different places. Tinsukia, Birugarh, Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Jorhat, Sibsagar, Golaghat, Sonitpur and Dhubri districts of the state were badly affected by the flood. Surface communication was disrupted.

In Tripura, vast stretches of low-lying areas became water-logged following incessant rain during the past two days. According to an official report from Agartala, many rivers in North Tripura were flowing above the danger mark and the Gandachara sub-division was cut off from the rest of the state as a bridge was damaged.

A report from Aizawl said two southern districts of Mizoram remained cut off from the rest of the country because of floods and landslides which also damaged 103 houses at various places.

In Manipur, the Nambul and Imphal rivers have crossed the danger level and several low-lying areas inundated following incessant rain.

The road links between three districts of Arunachal Pradesh -- Tawan, West Kameng and East Kameng -- and rest of the country were cut off following landslides at several places on the Bhalukpung- Bomdilla road since Thursday.

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