Over 136 people died in flood and landslide-related incidents in Maharashtra after the state witnessed a frightening spate of rain on Friday, even as rescue operations by the military and NDRF are ongoing.
A flood-like situation has prevailed in parts of Maharashtra’s Kolhapur, Raigad, Ratnagiri, Palghar, Thane, and Nagpur.
The toll included 47 deaths in landslides in Raigad district. Besides landslides, several people have been swept away in floodwaters. Officials put the death toll in various incidents in Western Maharashtra’s Satara district at 27.
Other fatalities included those reported from eastern districts such as Gondia and Chandrapur.
A landslide in Raigad district took place near Talai village in Mahad tehsil on Thursday evening, when the debris of a mountain fell on a residential area. Thirty-five houses were buried under it, and 36 died, with more than 70 still reported missing.
Landslides also hit Ambeghar and Mirgaon villages in Satara’s Patan tehsil during Thursday night, burying a total of eight houses, according to Ajay Kumar Bansal, Superintendent of Police, Satara rural.
After the power supply came to a standstill due to flood water entering a Covid Hospital in Chiplun of Ratnagiri district, eight patients, who were on oxygen support, died.
Four people died after a building collapsed in Govandi, adjacent to Mumbai. All deceased were from the same family. Six people who were injured were admitted to Rajwadi and Sion Hospital in Mumbai.
IMD Issues Red Alert
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Friday issued a red alert for six districts of Maharashtra which have been already pounded by heavy rains, forecasting “extremely heavy” rainfall and recommending preventive actions.
The alert was issued for the next 24 hours for the districts of Raigad, Ratnagiri, and Sindhudurg in coastal Konkan and also for Pune, Satara, and Kolhapur in Western Maharashtra. Extremely heavy rainfall is “very likely” at isolated places in ghat (hilly/upland) areas, an IMD official said. “Very likely” denotes 51 to 75 per cent probability of occurrence, he added. The forecast for Satara is “most likely” which means a probability of more than 75 per cent, he said.
A rainfall above 204.4 mm in 24 hours is considered extremely heavy. The forecast also included a red alert for Ratnagiri and Satara for Saturday. The intensity of showers will drastically come down from Sunday onward, the IMD said.
The Meteorological Department has issued a red alert for Konkan, Mumbai, and its adjoining districts for the next three days.
Heavy Predicted Rainfall in Konkan, Goa, Central Maha
The meteorological department on Friday said isolated extremely heavy falls are very likely over Konkan, Goa, and central Maharashtra in the next two days. Scattered to fairly widespread rainfall with isolated heavy falls are likely to continue over Gujarat till July 23, but its intensity will increase from July 24, it said.
“Fairly widespread to widespread rainfall with isolated heavy to very heavy falls very likely to continue over west coast during next 2-3 days with reduction thereafter,” the IMD said. “Isolated extremely heavy falls also very likely over Konkan, Goa, the adjoining ghat areas of central Maharashtra during July 23-24 with reduction thereafter and over coastal and south interior Karnataka, (from) today July 23,” it said.
Rescue Ops On
Besides 18 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) deployed in the state, eight more teams, from Odisha, were deployed in Pune and Goa.
Fifteen military teams were also deployed to hold flood-rescue operations in the districts of Ratnagiri, Kolhapur, and Satara.
As many as 84,452 people, including over 40,000 in Kolhapur district, were shifted to safer places in the Pune division on Friday as rains battered the region and rivers were in spate, officials said.
The Panchganga river near the Kolhapur city was flowing at a level higher than that witnessed during the peak of floods in 2019, officials said. Besides Pune and Kolhapur, the division also includes the districts of Sangli and Satara. Satara is hit hard especially by heavy rains and landslides.
Rescue teams of the NDRF, State Disaster Response Force and other agencies shifted a total of 84,452 people to safer locations by Friday evening, officials said. Six teams of the Indian Army and Navy are expected to join the rescue work on Saturday morning.
As many as 54 villages were completed affected due to the floods while 821 were partially affected, officials said. As many as 40,882 persons have been shifted from flood-affected areas in the Kolhapur district alone.
Five people — two in Radhanagari, two in Chandgad and one in Kagal tehsil — died in rain-related incidents in the district, officials said. The Panchganga was flowing at 55.08 feet at the Rajaram weir near the Kolhapur city around 9 pm, officials said.
Next 48 Hours Crucial: Balasaheb Thorat
Minister Balasaheb Thorat said ten to twelve landslides had occurred in the last 48 hours, calling the number ‘unusually high’.
He informed that many rescue operations were ongoing, even as teams faced challenges in reaching hilly locations. “Koyna, Krishna; many rivers are swelling. At least 136 people have died due to the floods,” he said.
The leader said the next 48 hours were crucial. About 4,000 people have been rescued, with many evacuation centers opened, he said, adding that the Army and NDRF had helped the state a lot.
PM Modi, CM Uddhav Announce Ex-gratia
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced Rs 2 lakh ex-gratia for the next of kin of those who died in Raigad due to landslides. Rs 50,000 would be given to the injured, the PMO said in a tweet.
The Maharashtra government announced an ex-gratia of Rs five lakh each to the kin of people who have died in landslides triggered by heavy rains in different parts of the state. The injured will be treated in hospitals at the government’s expense, it said in a statement.
Karnataka
Three people lost their lives in rain-related incidents in Karnataka and two are missing, with the state government sounding a red alert in seven districts. The IMD, meanwhile, issued two red alerts of heavy to very heavy rainfall for isolated places in the eastern and western parts of Madya Pradesh.
Several parts of Goa, including Sattari and Bicholim tehsils in the north and Dharbandora in the south, are reeling under a flood-like situation, and a large number of houses were inundated as the water level of some rivers rose following heavy rains over the past few days.
Heavy rains in various parts of Karnataka over the past 24 hours have claimed three lives, led to landslides in eight places, and the evacuation of about 9,000 people. The Indian Coast Guard said that it conducted a day-long rescue operation in the flood-hit Uttara Kannada District and rescued 161 people from Khargejoog village, Unglijoog, Kharejoog, and Bodojoog Islands.
The Indian Railways cancelled a few trains due to landslides between Sonalium-Kulem, and Dudhsagar-Caranzol. The rivers Krishna, Cauvery, Tungabhadra, Bhima, Kapila (Kabini), and many others in Malnad and coastal Karnataka are in spate, an official said, sharing details that showed 131 villages in 18 taluks are badly hit, affecting 16,213 people.
The red alert has been sounded in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Uttara Kannada, Shivamogga, Chikkamagaluru, Hassan, and Kodagu districts for the next 24 hours.
Telangana
In Telangana, several low-lying areas faced inundation, and road links were disrupted following heavy rains during the last two days. NDRF personnel rescued a group of seven people who were stuck at an ashram in the Nizamabad district.
Several rivulets and other water bodies were in spate and road links in various villages in the state have been disrupted.
With inputs from Vinaya Deshpande, Manoj Khandekar, and agencies.
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