IMD issues heavy rain alert in Assam, M’laya for 3 days
■ Severe flood alert issued for Brahmaputra in Assam
New Delhi: A red-colour coded weather alert has been issued for Assam and Meghalaya from May 26-28, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Tuesday, predicting very heavy rainfall in these two Northeast states. Sathi Devi, head of the IMD’s national weather forecasting centre, said there is a strong flow of south-westerly winds from the Bay of Bengal, bringing a lot of moisture to these two states.
A red-colour coded weather alert has been issued for Assam and Meghalaya from May 26-28, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Tuesday, predicting very heavy rainfall in these two northeastern states. Meanwhile, incessant rains post-Amphan have aggravated further in Assam affecting more than 30,000 people in five districts.
Sathi Devi, head of the IMD’s national weather forecasting centre, said that there is a strong flow of south-westernly winds from the Bay of Bengal, bringing a lot of moisture to these two states.
This is aided by the orographic factors of these two states that will bring in very heavy rainfall, she added.
The IMD said that rainfall is likely at most places, with heavy to very heavy rainfall is expected at isolated places. A few isolated will also receive extremely heavy falls, it added.
“Red-colour coded warning has been issued to Assam and Meghalaya for the next three days,” IMD director-general Mrurunjay Mohapatra said.
Amidst the rapid growth coronavirus cases in the state, people living in 127 flood-hit villages are compelled to take shelter in make-shift relief camps set up by local administration in different schools or national highways.
According to government data, more than 30,000 people are affected in the districts of Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Darrang, and Goalpara. At least 127 villages have been affected and 579 hectares of cropland are already under water.
The Central Water Commission has issued a severe flood situation alert for the Brahmaputra river in Assam’s Neamati Ghat and Jiabharali in Jorhat and Sonitpur districts, respectively.
The highest flood level for the Brahmaputra in the Jorhat stretch is 87.37 metres and the current level is 85.78 metre. In Jiabharali, the highest flood level is 78.5 metres and the current level is 77.36 metres. Beki in Barpeta, Lohit in Tinsukia and the Dibrugarh stretch of the Brahmaputra and many of its tributaries are also flowing above-normal flood levels.
A report by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority said that Jia Bharali river, which is a tributary of the Brahmaputra river, is also flowing above the danger mark.