MP: Rains resume, 1 dead as house collapses; IMD issues alerts

Rains started lashing parts of Madhya Pradesh on Thursday, especially its eastern districts, including Chattarpur, where a 75-year-old man lost his life after his house collapsed in the early hours following downpour, officials said.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a red alert stating that extremely heavy rainfall is very likely in four districts of eastern Madhya Pradesh- Balaghat, Tikamgarh, Damoh and Sagar till Friday morning.

Last week, many parts of western Madhya Pradesh were inundated following heavy rains. However, in the last few days the monsoon had taken a break.

On Thursday, the rain activity again revived in eastern districts of the state.

According to police, a house collapsed around 3.30 am at Bhagaura village, some 100 kms from Chattarpur district headquarters.

"Ramavtar Pathak, 75, died while his elder brother sustained injuries in the incident. The injured was admitted to a hospital," Chandla police station inspector Virendra Bahadur Singh said In a separate incident, three labourers- Lokesh, Shailesh and Prabin- were swept away in flash floods caused by Dhasan river in Chattarpur district, Revenue officer B P Singh said.

"The local residents of Chaparan village rescued the trio after tremendous efforts in Nowgaon area, close to Uttar Pradesh where it rained heavily," he added.

The three persons, who hailed from Gujarat, were hired by a contractor. They were working at a railway site when the incident took place, the officer said.

The IMD's Bhopal office said that Nowgaon received 85 mm rainfall in 24 hours ending at 8.30 am Thursday, while Chattarpur district received 75 mm rainfall in the same period.

Meanwhile, besides the red alert for four eastern districts, the IMD issued orange and yellow alerts for some other districts in the state.

All the alerts are valid till Friday morning.

The orange alert warned that very heavy rainfall along with thunderstorm and lightning is likely at isolated places in 12 districts, including Jabalpur and two divisions of the state- Rewa and Shahdol.

The yellow alert forecast heavy rainfall and thunderstorm with lightning at isolated places in four districts Rajgarh, Shajapur, Guna and Ashok Nagar.

Similarly, another yellow alert warned that thunderstorm and lightning are likely at isolated places in 12 districts, including Bhopal.

"A well-marked low pressure area is advancing over eastern MP. It is likely to cause good rainfall in next two- three days in the state," Uday Sarwate, a senior meteorologist with the IMD's Bhopal office said.

"Many eastern districts have already received showers," he added.

The state has received normal rainfall in the ongoing monsoon season so far.