Monsoon wreaks havoc in India, 691 killed, 2.20 cr affected, properties worth millions destroyed and it’s not over yet!

Wreckage instead of houses. Drains instead of roads. Ponds instead of crops. The Monsoon this year has left a pile of catastrophe is its tail. 

So far, the floods have claimed lives on 691 people in Uttar Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Bihar and Gujarat. Over 2.20 crore people have been affected, 1.21 crore in Bihar alone. 

Hundreds and thousands of people have been rendered homeless and standing crops of worth millions have been destroyed. And it is not over yet. 

NDRF, Army, PAC, Indian Air Force and every other possible governmental and non-governmental resource has been pushed into the relief and rescue operation. Despite that the toll keep touching new heights every day. 

Here is a look at the grim flood situation in different states of India: 

Uttar Pradesh: Incessant rains and swollen rivers have caused the deaths of 69 in the state, where 2,523 villages in 24 districts are flooded affecting a population of over 20 lakh, the relief commissioner’s office said on Sunday. 

The official report says 39,783 persons have take shelter in relief camps in the affected districts of eastern UP where there was no let up in flood fury as raging waters of the rivers emanating from Nepal caused havoc in vast swathes of human habitation.

Reports reaching here said Army choppers, NDRF and PAC (flood) jawans continued relief and rescue operations in the badly hit areas.

River Rapti was also flowing well above the red mark at Balrampur, Bansi, Rigauli and Birdghat (Gorakhpur), while Budhi Rapti was above the danger level at Kakrahi (Siddharth Nagar), rivers Rohin and Quano are flowing above danger mark at Trimohini Ghat (Mahrajganj) and Chandradeep Ghat (Gonda), it said.

Also read:  Yogi Adityanath conducts aerial survey of flood affected areas

Bihar: The toll in Bihar floods has risen to 202 as the flood situation worsened affecting around 1.21 crore people across 18 districts in the state.

Araria district accounted for 42 deaths, followed by Sitamarhi (31), West Champaran (29), Supaul (13), Madhubani (12), Kisanganj (11), East Champaran (11), Darbhanga (10), Purnea (9), Madhepura (9), Katihar (7), Sheohar (4), Gopalganj (4), Saharsa (4), Khagaria (3), Saran (2) and Muzaffarpur (1), the Disaster Management department said in a report.

A total of 4.22 lakh people have been shifted to 1,336 relief camps in different parts of the state, it said.

The MeT office said Patna, Gaya, Bhagalpur and Purnea are likely to witness generally cloudy sky with the possibility of rain or thundershower on Monday.

A total of 28 National Disaster Response Force teams comprising 1,152 personnel with 118 boats are involved in rescue and relief operations, a release from the state Disaster Management department said.

Also 16 teams of the State Disaster Response Force comprising 446 personnel are helping people in the flood-hit areas with 92 boats, it said, adding 2,228 Army personnel are assisting in relief and rescue operation with 280 boats.

Also 1,879 community kitchens are catering to 3.72 lakh people in several flood-hit areas, the release said.

Also read: 49 fresh causalities take toll to 202, Araria district worst affected

West Bengal: Even as the overall flood situation in West Bengal has started improving, the death toll continues to spike. Three more deaths on Sunday took the figure to 55 since July 21.

Of the 55 deceased, 48 people drowned, four died of snakebite and three succumbed to wall collapse, a senior officer of the state disaster management department said.

Over 52 lakh people have been hit by the floods in six north Bengal districts of Coochbehar, South Dinajpur, North Dinajpur, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar and Malda.

The officer said the flood situation was improving gradually as the waters had started receding as there was no heavy rainfall in the past 48 hours.

In all, 776 relief camps had been set up in the affected districts, where 2,08,513 people had taken shelter, he said.

The officer said the swirling waters had destroyed over 75,000 houses and damaged another 2.15 lakh.

Despite the overall improvement in the situation, a report from Malda said the Mahananda river, the water of which had flooded the Gajol block, was rising.The water level in a river at Harirampur in South Dinajpur district was also on the rise, the officer said.

Also read: Met department forecasts heavy rain in state including flood-affected parts

Assam: The flood situation in Assam marginally improved even as three more persons lost their lives, taking the toll to 63, with over 22 lakh people suffering across 16 districts in the state.

This is the third wave of flood in the state this year and the total number deaths in flood-related incidents so far has gone up to 147.

The ASDMA said 22.11 lakh people are affected by flood in Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Biswanath, Sonitpur, Barpeta, Bongaigaon, Chirang, Kokrajhar, Dhubri, South Salmara, Goalpara, Morigaon, Nagaon, Golaghat, Jorhat and Majuli districts.

According to ASDMA, Morigaon is the worst-affected district with 5.29 lakh sufferers, followed by Barpeta with 5.07 lakh people affected in the deluge.

Currently, 1,791 villages and 1.18 lakh hectares of crop area are inundated.

Authorities are running 328 relief camps and distribution centers in 13 districts, where 68,014 people have taken shelter.

Nearly 1,500 people have been moved to safer places in various districts.

The flood has damaged embankments, roads, bridges and other infrastructures in Kokrajhar, Jorhat, Biswanath, Udalguri, Barpeta, Nagaon, Golaghat, Majuli, Dibrugarh, Bongaigaon and Kamrup.

Brahmaputra is presently flowing above the danger mark at Nimatighat in Jorhat and Dhubri town.

While the Dhansiri is flowing above danger level at Numaligarh in Golaghat, the Jia Bharali river is above the red mark at NT Road crossing in Sonitpur. The Kopili river at Dharamtul in Nagaon and the Beki river at Road Bridge in Barpeta are also above the danger level.

Kaziranga National Park, Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary and Lawkhua Wildlife Sanctuary are also under the flood waters.

Also read: Assam floods claim lives of 124 animals including 9 rhinos in Kaziranga National Park

Gujarat: The flood in the state killed at least 218 people this year. 4.5 lakh people in the state were affected due to floods and over 39,000 people had to be shifted to safer places. Air Force, Army and National & State Disaster Response Forces were all pressed in rescue operations. The forces ended up rescuing over 11,400 people from flood-affected regions. 

The flood situation might have improved in the state but the receding waters have made conducive environment for water born and air borne diseases, including Swine Flu. The deadly disease has already claimed 242 lives since flood situation improved in the state. 

Also read: Death toll rises to 218, relief operation intensifies

(With PTI Inputs)