Cloudburst In Arunachal's Itanagar Triggers Landslides, Leaves People Stranded On Highway Due To Flood-Like Situation

A cloudburst triggered several landslides and a flood-like situation in Arunachal Pradesh's capital city, Itanagar.

A cloudburst on Sunday morning triggered several landslides and a flood-like situation in Arunachal Pradesh's capital city, Itanagar, news agency PTI reported, citing officials. This comes at a time when the northeastern state has been witnessing heavy rains over the last few weeks. However, the situation has improved in the past two days.

As per the officials, there was no forecast for rain on Sunday. The cloudburst happened at around 10.30 AM. Following the cloudburst, landslides were reported from parts of Itanagar and its adjoining areas. Several places in Itanagar were heavily inundated, and many houses and vehicles were damaged in the flood.

According to an official of the Disaster Management Department, a flood-like situation was witnessed in several stretches of the NH-415, as reported by PTI. Many vehicles were stranded on the highway, the lifeline for the people of the state capital, the official said.

The district administration asked people not to venture into rivers and landslide-prone areas. People were advised to move to safer places in view of the heavy rains, officials said. The district administration has set up seven designated places as relief camps, they further stated.

Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah is set to chair a meeting on Sunday to review preparedness to deal with floods that affect various parts of the country during the monsoon. Large parts of Bihar, Assam, and other eastern states are inundated every year due to a rise in the water level of various rivers due to monsoon rains.

"The home minister will chair a high-level meeting here on Sunday to review overall preparedness for flood management in the country," news agency PTI quoted a home ministry official as saying.

In another northeastern state, Assam, the situation is grim. Currently, Assam is reeling under floods, with around 3.90 lakh people affected in 19 districts, officials said.

The flood situation in the state improved marginally as the number of affected people and districts decreased, though two more deaths were reported, an official bulletin said on Saturday. Two deaths were reported in the state in the last 24 hours, taking the toll in this year's flood, landslide, and storm to 39, an Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) bulletin said.