MP, Assam reel under floods, toll touches 17

There was no let up in the flood crisis in Madhya Pradesh and Assam with the death toll climbing to 17 on Sunday while heavy rains lashed parts of Rajasthan as the northern limit of monsoon crossed Jodhpur.

Monsoon continued to be active in Maharashtra, Goa, Telangana, north-interior Karnataka and Kerala.

Seven people died due to floods in different parts of MP in the last 24 hours. On Saturday, MP chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had confirmed eight deaths in incidents related to rains in the past couple of days.

IMD (Bhopal) director Anupam Kashyapi said heavy to very heavy rains may lash Indore, Ujjain and Hoshangabad divisions, besides some parts of the state capital on Monday. Union home minister Rajnath Singh spoke to Chouhan and assured him of all help in rescue and relief operations.

In Assam, Brahmaputra waters have submerged 60 per cent of Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary in Morigaon district and damaged around 50 per cent infrastructure of the world’s densest habitat of the Great Indian one-horn rhinoceros. Two people were washed away in Assam on Saturday. Over 1.35 lakh people have been affected in Lakhimpur, Golaghat, Morigaon, Barpeta and Jorhat. Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal reviewed the flood situation.

In Odisha, heavy rainfall is likely at some places due to a low pressure area formed over Jharkhand and adjoining areas North Odisha.