33 deaths were reported on Saturday as heavy rain pounded several states, including Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha and Uttarakhand, triggering flash floods and landslides.
At least 22 people were killed in Himachal Pradesh, including eight members of a family, as heavy rain since Friday caused landslides and flash floods.10 people were injured in rain-related incidents across the state, while six who went missing in Mandi are feared dead, news agency PTI quoted Deputy Commissioner Arindam Chaudhary as saying.
In Uttarakhand, four people were killed and 10 went missing following a series of cloudbursts. Thousands have been evacuated from several villages as rivers breached the danger mark and washed away bridges.
Odisha, which is already reeling under floods with around 4.5 lakh people marooned in 500 villages, braced for more damage as a fresh spell of heavy rain pounded parts of the state, with officials reporting four deaths. The state government has deployed rescue and relief teams in several districts, including Mayurbhanj, Kendrapara and Balasore. 70 people were rescued after a boat carrying them was swept away by strong currents in the flooded Mahanadi river on Saturday.
Heavy rain uprooted scores of trees and electricity poles, and submerged low-lying areas in several districts of Jharkhand. A woman died when a mud wall of her house caved in on her in West Singhbhum, while two people drowned in the swollen Nalkari river in the Ramgarh district.
The Vaishno Devi Yatra in Jammu and Kashmir’s Reasi district resumed this morning after remaining temporarily suspended overnight after heavy rain caused flood-like situation on the pilgrimage track. The Weather Office has predicted extremely heavy rain in West Madhya Pradesh on Sunday and in East Rajasthan on Monday.