Heavy rains, landslide leave trail of destruction across northeast India, 36 dead in 4 states

Guwahati/Aizawl, May 29 (IANS) At least 36 people were killed in heavy rains and landslides in four northeastern states on Tuesday under the impact of Cyclone Remal while normal life came to a grinding halt in all the eight states of the region with road and rail links affected, officials said.

While 27 people were killed in Mizoram, including 21 in a quarry collapse in Aizawl district, four deaths were reported in Nagaland, three in Assam, and two in Meghalaya.

The rains, accompanied by gusty winds, triggered landslides, uprooted trees and electric poles, and disrupted power and internet services.

In view of waterlogging between the New Haflong-Jatinga Lampur section and Ditokcherra yard under the Lumding division of Northeast Frontier Railway, many trains were either cancelled or partially cancelled and rescheduled.

In Mizoram, at least 27 people, including 21 in a collapsed stone quarry, were killed and 10 others were missing in multiple landslides in Aizawl district.

Disaster management and police officials said that 21 bodies had been recovered so far from the quarry site between Melthum and Hlimen in the Aizawl while several others were still trapped under the debris following the collapse in the morning. Six died and many others were missing following incidents of landslides at Salem, Aibawk, Lungsei, Kelsih, and Falkawn in the district.

In Nagaland, at least four people died in different incidents while more than 40 houses have been damaged in various parts of the state.

A minor boy drowned at a river near Laruri village under the Meluri subdivision of Phek district, while two other incidents of drowning were reported from Doyang Dam in the Wokha district, an official said. An elderly man was crushed to death after a wall collapsed in Phek.

In Assam, three persons were killed while 17 others were injured in Kamrup, Kamrup (Metro), and Morigaon districts. According to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), a tree branch fell on a school bus in Dhekiajuli of Sonitpur district, injuring 12 students. Five others were injured in different incidents in Morigaon.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma expressed grief over the loss of lives.

ASDMA officials said that heavy storms occurred in the Bongaigaon, Chirang, Darrang, Dhubri, Hojai, Kamrup, Kamrup Metro, Karbi Anglong, Kokrajhar, Morigaon, Nagaon, Sonitpur, South Salmara and West Karbi Anglong districts.

In Meghalaya, two persons died and over 100 others were injured as heavy rain lashed the state, officials said on Tuesday. Officials said one death was reported from East Jaintia Hills and another in a car accident in East Khasi Hills district. The relentless downpour damaged a large number of houses in 17 villages. Landslides were reported on the Shillong-Mawlai Bypass and at Bivar Road in Oakland, while flashfloods took place in Langkyrding, Pynthorbah, Polo, Sawfurlong, and Demseiniong areas.

In Tripura, heavy rain accompanied by gusty winds of 50 to 60 km per hour lashed most parts of the state during the past 24 hours, damaging 470 houses and forcing 750 people to take shelter in 15 relief camps in different districts.

Briefing media in Agartala, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Sushant Chowdhury said that during the past 24 hours, the state recorded an average of 215.5 mm rainfall with Unakoti district recording the highest, at 252.4 mm.

In Arunachal Pradesh, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a high alert with a forecast of extremely heavy rainfall. Chief Minister Pema Khandu requested the people to take all precautionary measures and avoid vulnerable and isolated locations.