Uttar Pradesh: After 176% excess rain, flood alert in 12 districts

LUCKNOW: With Uttar Pradesh receiving 111.7mm rain this month, which is 176% more than normal, officials have sounded a flood warning in several districts of eastern UP. Relief commissioner Ranvir Prasad said, 288% more rain than a day’s normal was clocked on Saturday itself, which have set off alarm bells.
“Lakhimpur Kheri recorded a cumulative 396mm rain, which is 477% above normal while Shrawasti recorded 321.6mm rain, which is 350% above normal. Districts like Maharajganj, Varanasi, Gonda, Bahraich, Deoria, Siddharthnagar, Sant Ravidas Nagar, Gorakhpur, Mirzapur, Prayagraj, Sant Kabir Nagar, Pratapgarh, Hamirpur, Chitrakoot, Amethi, Lucknow, Balrampur, Ambedkarnagar, Basti and Kanpur have clocked rain much above normal levels,” he said.
On Friday, the relief commissioner office had issued a notice to administrations of at least 12 districts of Lakhimpur Kheri, Bahraich, Shrawasti, Balrampur, Siddharthnagar, Maharajganj, Kushinagar, Deoria, Gorakhpur, Gonda, Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar, Ballia, Barabanki, Sitapur and Mau, warning of a possibility of flood in coming days and declared a red alert in the hinterland of Ghagra, Rapti, Rohini and Sharda rivers.
“Rohini river has achieved a maximum level of 85.43m and is currently flowing at 83.33m, which is 0.89m above danger mark. Since it’s still raining, the river is showing rising trend,” said Prasad. Rivers which were less than 0.5m below danger mark included Sharda at Lakhimpur Kheri, Ghagra at Elgin Bridge in Barabanki, Rapti in Shrawasti and Balrampur.
While Rapti was rising alarmingly in Balrampur and Gorakhpur, the Ghagra river too was rising in Ayodhya and Ballia. Prasad said, as per images available through remote sensing data, around 28,000hectare in Maharajganj and 5,000hectare in Siddharthnagar was already inundated, though water did not flow into habitations.
“We are ready to set up more than 100 relief camps. Forecast suggests light to medium rain in Nepal, which will affect catchment areas of Ghagra, Rapti and Gandak rivers,” he said. His department is in touch with National Remote Sensing Centre in Hyderabad for updates and daily images of flooded areas.