Disasters & Accidents

At least 16 dead, 1 million affected by heavy rains in India

New Delhi, Jun 17 (EFE).- At least 16 people died and over a million have been displaced by heavy rains in northeastern India, where alerts were issued asking people not to go outside due to the possibility of landslides and floods.

At least four people were killed in the state of Meghalaya, three of them due to flooding and one because of landslides, the state’s Chief Minister Conrad Sangma tweeted Friday.

Moreover, four children under the age of 10 died and two people were injured Thursday as a result of a landslide in the East Khasi Hills district, according to a statement by the Meghalaya government.

The Meghalaya authorities have ordered the closure of some roads and regional educational centers for the next five days and advised against non-priority travel.

For its part, the State Disaster Management Authority of the northeastern state of Assam reported another eight deaths, four of them in its latest update, since heavy rains began in the region earlier this week.

Rescue teams estimate that over a million people have been affected by heavy rainfall, and in some parts of Assam water levels are above dangerous levels.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said in its latest forecast that extremely heavy rains will persist in both regions for the next five days and is expected to spread throughout the eastern states of Bengal and Sikkim.

Such incidents related to heavy rains are common in South Asia at the peak of the monsoon season between July and August, and often cause hundreds of deaths while leaving millions affected in the region. EFE

mvg/sc

Related Articles

Back to top button