Floods and landslides continue to wreak havoc in Arunachal Pradesh. Fresh floods and landslides in the state have newly affected six districts. With this, the total number of people affected by the disaster across the state has now risen to over 94,000.
According to the State Emergency Operations Centre, new incidents of floods and landslides were reported in the last 24 hours in Keyi Panyor, Upper Siang, Tirap, Changlang, Papum Pare and Upper Subansiri districts. In many villages, houses, agricultural land, roads, bridges and government property have suffered extensive damage.
The impact of the disaster has widened further due to these new incidents. As per official figures, 94,201 people from 333 villages under 237 circles in 26 districts have so far been affected by floods and landslides.
Human casualties have also risen alarmingly. Six people have lost their lives in rain-related incidents over the past two weeks. On Wednesday, two labourers from Bihar died in a landslide at a construction site in Lohit district. Earlier, three people died in flash floods in Keyi Panyor district. Search and rescue operations are still underway in the same district for two women who were swept away by floodwaters on June 24. In another incident, one person died in a landslide at Charti village in Anjaw district.
The disaster has also severely impacted agriculture and forest areas. So far, 334.2 hectares of agricultural land have been damaged. This includes 185.5 hectares of horticulture crops and 148.7 hectares of farmland. In addition, around 1,010 hectares of forest area have also been affected.
Critical infrastructure essential for daily life has not been spared either. As per government data, 131 roads, 19 bridges, 21 culverts, 191 water supply systems, 58 government buildings, 21 power transmission lines, 224 electricity poles, four hydropower projects, seven retaining walls, seven flood protection walls, two hospitals and three schools have been damaged. Many houses have also suffered extensive damage in different parts of the state.
To provide immediate relief to affected people, the administration is running two relief camps in Keyi Panyor district. Currently, 252 people are taking shelter in these camps. Simultaneously, rescue, relief and restoration work is ongoing in the affected areas by the concerned agencies.
Meanwhile, the weather is unlikely to improve completely in the coming days. The India Meteorological Department has issued an Orange Alert for Thursday for Si-Yomi, Siang, East Siang, Lower Dibang Valley, Lohit and Longding districts. Thunderstorms with heavy rainfall are forecast in these areas. The intensity of rain is expected to reduce from Friday, but an Orange Alert will remain in place for Papum Pare, Lower Dibang Valley and Tirap districts. While weather conditions are likely to improve in most parts of the state over the weekend, a Yellow Alert will continue till Monday in several eastern and foothill districts.
