Heavy rainfall, lightning likely in 18 districts of Bihar: IMD

PATNA: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Wednesday cautioned the people living in the 18 districts of the state bordering Nepal and those further south against going out in the open for the next 72 hours, as the area falling in Nepal and north Bihar would witness heavy to very heavy rainfall, along with thunderstorm and lightning.
The IMD forecast said while thunder and lightning could jeopardize life, the areas falling in lower north Bihar would also witness waterlogging and disruption of transport and power, besides increase in the water level of the rivers.
The major rivers that are expected to cause flood-like situation are Gandak, Burhi Gandak, Bagmati, Kamla Balan, Kosi and Mahananda originating in Nepal where heavy to very heavy rainfall is expected over the next six days from Thursday.
According to one forecast collected and collated by the state water resources department (WRD), the catchment areas of Gandak, Burhi Gandak, Bagmati, Kamla and Kosi rivers would register rainfall in the range of 35mm to 138mm on Thursday and Friday.
Further, while the momentum would continue with increased amount of rainfall from July 11 to July 14, Bagmati river alone is slated to receive rainfall of 254mm on July 13 and 263.5mm on July 14 in its Nepal catchment areas.
The impact would be felt most in 18 districts, as forecast by IMD on Wednesday. The districts concerned are West Champaran, East Champaran, Gopalganj, Siwan, Sheohar, Sitamarhi, Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, Samastipur, Saran, Madhubani, Supaul, Araria, Saharsa, Madhepura, Purnia, Kishanganj and Katihar.
Apprehending the grim situation that unfold in the next one week, CM Nitish Kumar on Tuesday had cautioned the DMs concerned and the teams of national disaster response force (NDRF) and state disaster response force (SDRF) already deployed in the 13 districts, as well as disaster management department and WRD, to remain on high alert and be preparedness to tackle the flood situation.
Already, the level of water in the rivers has started increasing on Wednesday. The discharge of water through the barrage across Kosi at Barahkshetra in Nepal increased from 1.03 lakh cusecs in the morning to 1.07 lakh cusecs in the afternoon.
Similarly, the flow of water through Birpur barrage south of Barahkshetra had increased to 1.35 lakh cusecs by the afternoon. The water discharge through Valmiki Nagar barrage across the Gandak has been fluctuating, but began to show an increasing trend at 99,000 cusecs measured at 2pm. The heavy to very heavy rainfall expected in Nepal and in Bihar over the next one week is expected to worsen the situation in the lower reaches of the rivers flowing through north Bihar.