ITANAGAR, 1 Jul: Incessant rains triggered landslides and floods in several districts of Arunachal Pradesh on Monday, throwing life out of gear, officials said.
All the major rivers in the state are in spate and flowing above the danger mark, they said.
The overflowing Kameng River swept away several houses in Seppa, the headquarters of East Kameng district. However, there was no report of any casualty.
A landslide that occurred in the Division IV area of the state capital damaged several buildings and buried a car. The woman who was driving the car managed a miraculous escape, police said.
The important Kurung bridge was washed away on Sunday, snapping connectivity to Kurung Kumey district, Koloriang MLA Pani Taram said.
All schools in the Itanagar Capital Region (ICR) and nearby areas have been shut for five days from 2 June, in view of the weather conditions, according to an order issued by ICR DC Shweta Nagarkoti Mishra.
In Papum Pare district, a cloudburst in Sagalee triggered the Pare Hydropower Project (PHEP) to release a huge amount of water, and the district administration has cautioned the public against venturing near the water bodies.
PHEP Assistant General Manager (Technical) Taba Gagung Tebw appealed to the residents downstream of the project to be vigilant and not venture near the riverbanks for fishing in the next few days.
“A cloudburst occurred at around 3:30 am on Monday near Sagalee, leading to heavy rainfall in the entire Pare River catchment area and flooding of all the tributaries of the Pare River,” he said, adding that “discharge from the Pare River dam may increase in the coming days due to heavy rainfall in the catchment area of the river.”
The Pare River catchment area comprises streams and nallahs in Leporiang, Sagalee, Nimte, Laptap, Tashi, Kheel, Toru and Mepsoro.
The swollen Pare River has also flooded the compound of the government girls’ residential school in Sarkha Happa.
The local administration has appealed to those residing near nallahs and rivers to shift to safer locations.
Further, in view of the incessant rains and consequent flood, the DC has issued a directive for closure of schools and anganwadi centres in rural Papum Pare from 2-6 July.
In Bordumsa (Changlang), the overflowing Burha Dehing River flooded Bijoypur, Makantong, and Wagun-III and -IV areas and damaged bridges and culverts, along with standing crops and livestock.
Bordumsa ADC Olin Lego on Monday informed that the NDRF is engaged in rescue and evacuation missions.
“Those who were marooned on islands have been evacuated to designated rescue centres. No human casualty has been reported so far,” he added.
On Monday, Mengkengmiri, Dirakmiri, Tengapani and Champa villages in Namsai district were totally submerged under floodwater.
A total of five villages in Lohit district, 11 in the ICR, 16 in Changlang district, and four in West Kameng district were affected.
Five people suffered injuries in the ICR, including two males and three females, of whom one Nabam Yaro Tagru (29), along with her one year and 3 months-old daughter Tagru Jimi and her brother-in-law Nabam Nake (13) have been admitted to RKMH, Itanagar.
A total of seven kutcha houses were damaged in the ICR – one each in Hill Top Colony (Itanagar), Nirjuli, Bichum Yogin village, Chimpu (near Saturday market), F&G Sector, Papu Nallah, and Damsite (Naharlagun).
Also, around 20 houses were inundated in Nirjuli, while landslides damaged a car wash, a timber shop, a meat shop, etc, on the F&G Sector road.
In Kra Daadi district, two kutcha houses were fully damaged in HQ Tali due to a landslide. Landslides also damaged three houses and two granaries in Rilu village in Leparada district.
A total of 58 kutcha houses suffered damages in East Kameng district, while four houses in Lohit district suffered damages.
In Longding district, one kutcha house and a granary were partially damaged due to a landslide in Longkhaw village, while in Changlang district, floods damaged 70 kutcha houses, 120 huts, and four pucca houses.
Till now, a total of 61,948 people in the state have been affected due to rain-triggered floods and landslides. A total of three people have died – one each in Siang, Upper Subansiri and Namsai districts – and five have suffered injuries.
So far 300 people have been evacuated to relief camps in the ICR, Changlang and Namsai.
Further, a total of 143.58 hectares of agriculture and horticulture land in the state have been affected. (PTI with DIPRO inputs)
