Landslides, floods hit Assam, Meghalaya, 3 killed

GUWAHATI: Three people were killed in landslides and one was swept away by floodwaters and is feared dead in Assam and Meghalaya in the last 24 hours even as the number of people affected by the deluge in Assam crossed 37,500 on Saturday evening.
Two siblings, Cafinia Nongsiej (15) and Maianylla Nongsiej (10), were buried alive in a landslide at Dommawlein in West Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya. In Guwahati, daily wager Mukhtar Ali (34) lost his life when the guard wall of his rented house collapsed due to loosening of soil after incessant rain. Rescuers had to dig out his body from inside the debris.
A boy was swept away by floodwaters on Friday in Assam’s Tezpur, where the tributaries of the Brahmaputra have inundated many villages. The boy was untraceable till last reports came in.
In Assam, 13 districts and subdivisions have been affected by the first wave of floods this year, the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said. About 34,000 people were affected by floods in the state till Friday. The IMD has again issued an ‘orange warning’ for the next two days when heavy to extremely heavy rain is likely across the North-East.
As per Central Water Commission data on Saturday, the Brahmaputra and its tributaries Puthimari and Kopili were flowing above the danger mark at some places.
Cherrapunji, one of the wettest places on earth, and Nongstoin, both in Meghalaya, received rainfall of 21cm in the last 24 hours.
The ASDMA bulletin said 37,535 people, including 16,313 women and 3,868 children, were affected by floods in Assam till Saturday evening. The highest, 25,275 people, have been hit in upper Assam’s Lakhimpur district. Altogether 146 villages in Assam are affected due to inundation caused by rivers and breach of embankments.