Fresh floods and landslides have hit East Siang and Kamle districts in Arunachal Pradesh, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasting heavy to very heavy rainfall on Sunday in parts of the state. According to the State Disaster Management Department’s daily report on Saturday evening, East Siang and Kamle witnessed fresh rain-triggered floods and landslides during the past 24 hours.
In Lower Dibang Valley district, some workers were reportedly stranded at Diphu Nallah in Koronu circle on Saturday, after the water level rose. Rescue teams from the district police and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) attempted to reach them, but were forced to suspend the operation due to strong currents. The rescue operation is scheduled to resume on Sunday, the report said.
The ongoing spell of floods and landslides has so far claimed seven lives in the state, injured 29 people, and affected 1,49,257 others. A total of 26 districts, 328 circles and 576 villages have been affected by the monsoon fury.
Upper Siang continues to be the worst-affected district with 49,523 people impacted so far, followed by East Siang (35,500), Siang (25,365), Kra Daadi (13,731), Upper Subansiri (9,550), East Kameng (6,786), Namsai (2,657) and Anjaw (1,011). Around 806 houses have been damaged across the state in the ongoing monsoon deluge.
The cumulative loss to agriculture and horticulture has risen to 733.36 hectares, comprising 312.86 hectares of agricultural land and 420.5 hectares of horticulture plantations. Impact to infrastructure also remained extensive, with 192 roads, 32 bridges, 30 culverts, 265 water supply facilities, 156 power lines and 224 electric poles damaged.
The IMD has forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning at isolated places across Arunachal Pradesh on Sunday. An alert has been issued for Papum Pare and East Kameng districts, where very heavy rainfall of 12-20 cm is likely at some places, while Anjaw is expected to receive heavy rainfall of 6-11 cm. Authorities have intensified preparedness measures, with round-the-clock monitoring, coordination and emergency response.
