Maha: At least 19 killed in 10 days, over 4000 houses damaged amid incessant rainfall

At least 19 people were killed in rain-related incidents in the last 10 days in parts of Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, where nearly 4,500 houses were damaged due to heavy rains, officials said on Sunday.

The downpour in the last few days also affected around 54,000 hectares of agricultural land, of which more than 53,000 hectares is located in the Amravati division alone, where 2,796 people - mostly in Yavatmal district - were shifted to safer places, they said.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday said the state government was fully alert to tackle issues caused by excessive rains.

In the Nagpur division, Gadchiroli and Bhandara districts witnessed three deaths each, Wardha and Gondia two each and Chandrapur reported one death since July 13, officials said.

The Amravati division recorded five deaths on a single day on July 21 with Yavatmal topping the list with three fatalities, followed by Akola and Buldhana which recorded one death each. On July 22, three persons died in Amravati district after being swept away in flood waters.

Eleven districts in Vidarbha are part of two divisions - Amravati and Nagpur. The Nagpur division comprises Nagpur, Gondia, Bhandara, Chandrapur, Gadchiroli and Wardha districts, while the Amravati division consists of Amravati, Akola, Yavatmal, Washim and Buldhana.

Heavy rains have been lashing parts of Vidarbha since the past few days.

In the 24-hour period ending at 8.30 am on Sunday, Akola recorded 107.9 mm rainfall, followed by Yavatmal-24.0 mm, Wardha-23.4 mm, Amravati- 15.6 mm, Nagpur-6.7 mm, Gadchiroli-3.0 mm, Gondia-2.2 mm, Brahmpuri (in Chandrapur)-2.4 mm and Buldhana-2.0 mm, as per the Regional Meteorological Centre in Nagpur.

State Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Anil Patil visited Yavatmal on Sunday to take stock of the situation.

Addressing a press conference there, he said three persons died in rain-related incidents in Yavatmal district on July 21. He also announced an assistance of Rs 4 lakh to the families of each of the deceased.

Patil directed the district administration to immediately distribute food grains and provide an assistance of Rs 5,000 to more than 1,600 flood-affected families in the district.

Two persons were swept away in flooding in Akola Ba and Savar villages on Saturday, the district administration said, adding one of the bodies was yet to be recovered.

Besides, a woman died after her house collapsed in Waghadi village in the district, it said.

A 32-year-old man was swept away in a river in Akola, while a 47-year-old man met a similar fate in Buldhana, officials said.

In Amravati district, three persons died after being swept away in flood water on Saturday. Of them, a 32-year old man died in Jalkapat village, a 20-year-old man in Jamapur and a 37-year-old woman in Morshi taluka, officials said.

A 22-year-old man got swept away in a river in Chandurbazaar tehsil of Amravati on Sunday evening. A search operation was on for him, an official said.

As per the primary report from the Amravati divisional commissionerate, 53,056 hectares of agriculture land was affected due to the rains and flooding on July 21.

A total of 2,882 houses were damaged due to rains and flooding in the Amravati division, including 1,432 in Yavatmal, 1,424 in Akola, 14 in Washim and 12 in Amravati, it said.

Fifty-nine animals also died in the Amravati division due lightning and floods, it added.

Rains affected 875.84 hectares of agricultural land in parts of the Nagpur division, including 853.74 hectares in Chandrapur and 22.1 hectares in Wardha, a preliminary report issued by authorities said. More than 1,600 houses were damaged in this division, they said.

In Yavatmal district, around 110 people stranded due to floods in Anandnagar Tanda village under Mahagaon tehsil were rescued on Saturday.

The flood waters receded on Sunday in many areas of Yavatmal and the rain intensity also reduced, officials said.

In Buldhana, nearly 100 people were shifted to safer places at Katargaon village in Sangrampur tehsil on Saturday.

There was no flooding in the district on Sunday, senior officials said.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), there is a possibility of heavy rains in Amravati district, while cloudy weather is likely to prevail in other parts of Vidarbha.

Yavatmal Collector Amol Yedge said three persons died in the district and 1,426 houses were damaged due to rains and flooding.

Around 280 people were safely rescued from the flood waters, while 6,275 people were shifted to temporary accommodation and provided food, the collector said.

Speaking to reporters at Nagpur airport, Deputy CM Fadnavis said some parts of the state had received average rainfall of 15 to 20 days in a matter of just two to three days.

Weather alerts are being given to the administration of areas where heavy rainfall is expected and teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and their state counterpart SDRF were being quickly deployed as and when required, he said.