Floods wreak havoc in Assam, Bihar

Many areas of the states come to a standstill, house collapse in Maharashtra kills 9

The flood situation in Assam and Bihar remained grim today even as a rain-triggered building collapse in Maharashtra's Bhiwandi claimed at least nine lives while the death toll in lightning strikes in Odisha went up to 32 with three more casualties.

In Bihar, where the flood toll stood at 26, an estimated 2.75 million people have been affected in 12 districts, though no fresh casualty was reported.

Rivers including Ghaghra, Bagmati, Koshi and Mahananda are flowing above the danger mark at several places. The floods have also damaged crops in 0.33 million hectares of land.

Till Saturday evening, floods in Assam had claimed 29 lives, and affected nearly 37 lakh people in 3,300 villages in 28 districts of the state.

On the flood situation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his monthly 'Mann ki Baat' programme said the state governments and the Centre are working closely, making all efforts to help the affected people.

In Bhiwandi, nine persons were killed when a building collapsed due to heavy rains while incessant downpour in Mumbai, Thane and Palghar hit normal life.

The weather department has predicted very heavy rainfall in Mumbai and its suburbs.

In Odisha, where at least 32 people have lost their lives in incident of lightning strikes in the past two days, heavy rainfall and thundershower coupled with gusty surface wind are likely to lash several parts due to a low pressure area over the Bay of Bengal.

The meteorological centre in Bhubaneswar said rain or thundershower is very likely to occur at most places over north and south Odisha on Monday. Gusty surface wind with 35 to 45 kmph speed and up to 50 kmph may prevail along and off south Odisha coast.

Sea condition would be moderate to rough in south Odisha coast and fishermen are advised to be cautious while venturing into sea.

While the national capital recorded scant rainfall, neighboruing Uttar Pradesh continued to receive heavy downpour with many rivers, including the Ganga and Sharda, flowing near or above the danger mark, creating flood-like situation in several villages in the catchment areas. While Baheri recorded 17 cm of rainfall, Palliakalan, Hamirpur and Bareilly registered 14 cm, 13 cm and 12 cm rain respectively.

In Uttarakhand, five pilgrims were injured following a landslide in Rudraprayag where incessant rain led to blocking of several roads including the Chardham yatra routes. Debris falling from hillside has obstructed many routes including Rishikesh-Gangotri, Rishikesh-Yamunotri, Rishikesh- Badrinath National Highway affecting the ongoing Chardham yatra, an official said.

In West bengal, Darjeeling in the north and the coastal resort town of Digha in the southern tip recorded moderate rains, while the rest of the state received little or no rainfall.