Assam flood situation improves marginally; widespread rains in Odisha

The flood situation in Assam improved marginally on Thursday as river water levels receded while a fresh low-pressure area formed over the Bay of Bengal, triggering widespread rainfall in Odisha.

The Meteorological (MeT) office said heavy rainfall is likely to lash many parts of Odisha till October 6.

The southwest monsoon withdrew from Rajasthan with eight per cent more rainfall than normal, the MeT Department.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said dry weather is very likely over most parts of the northwest India during the next five days.

In Assam, over 2.70 lakh people were affected due to floods in seven districts on Thursday.

At present, 426 villages are underwater and over 25,307 hectare of crop areas have been damaged in the state, a bulletin issued by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said.

The Brahmaputra was flowing above the danger level at Dhubri and the Kopiliu in Nagaon, it said.

The flood-affected districts are Bishwanath, Barpeta, Goalpara, Morigaon, Hojai, Nagaon and West Karbi Anglong.

Nagaon is the worst hit with more than 1.90 lakh people suffering, followed by Morigaon with 35,670 and Goalpara with 26,127.

Relief centres have been opened in Nagaon district where 117 people have taken shelter in 12 relief camps.

The death toll in the three waves of floods in the state stands at 120.

In Odisha, under the influence of a cyclonic circulation over west central and adjoining northwest Bay of Bengal off south Odisha coasts, a low pressure area has formed over the same region, the MeT here said in a bulletin.

While several areas, including state capital Bhubaneswar and districts such as Angul, Rayagada, Sambalpur, Bhadrak, Cuttack, Kendrapara, Ganjam and Mayurbhanj recorded rainfall of varying intensity since Wednesday, the low pressure system is likely to trigger heavy downpour in many parts of Odisha till October 6, it said.

It may cause waterlogging in low-lying areas and damage 'kutcha' houses and informal roads at some places, the bulletin said.

Squally weather accompanied by surface wind with speed reaching 40-50 kmph is likely to prevail off Odisha coast adjoining Northwest and West-central Bay of Bengal, the MeT Centre said, advising fishermen not to venture into the sea till October 5.

In view of the weather forecast, the state government has asked the district collectors to be prepared to deal with any possible waterlogging in low-lying areas and flash flood or landslide in hilly areas.

The monsoon in Rajasthan knocked on June 24 and in the next two days on June 26 it covered the entire state, MeT Director R S Sharma said.

He said the monsoon normally withdraws from the state around September 18, but this time it started receding on September 28.

During this period, the state received 449.8 millimeters of rainfall, which is eight per cent more than the normal 415 millimeters.

The eastern Rajasthan received 98 per cent of normal rainfall whereas west Rajasthan recorded 127 per cent rains, he said.

Heavy rainfall was recorded at isolated places over Gangetic West Bengal, Saurashtra and Kutch, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

The IMD has forecast moderate thunderstorm with lightning very likely at isolated places over Bihar, Nagaland, Assam, Meghalaya, east Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Sikkim, Telangana, Madhya Maharashtra and Marathwada during the next 12 hours.