At least 22 people were killed in Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Nagaland due to landslides, flash floods and road accidents caused by incessant rainfall on Monday.
The deaths continued for the second day in a row even as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast that the monsoon will rebound over northwest India this week, with “active monsoon” conditions likely over both northeast and northwest India until the end of this week.
“The monsoon has moved south towards normal. This, coupled with active weather systems, will lead to increased rainfall over northwestern and northeastern India,” an India Meteorological Department official said.
Among the states, Jammu and Kashmir remained the worst affected on Monday, as 11 people died due to new rain-related incidents. Seven people were buried alive in Poonch district after a landslide caused by heavy rains destroyed their mud house in the upper areas of Loran, officials said.
Loran Police Director, Inspector Muhammad Yunus Khan, said, “Amid heavy rain, a landslide hit a mud house in the Domila Dohuk area of Loran early Monday, killing 7 people.”
Earlier in the day, a passenger bus collided with a boulder that fell from a hill near Raji Nala along the Jammu-Kishtwar National Highway in Doda district. Two people died in the incident, which was reported around 9.30am. A police officer said, “The accident led to the death of two passengers and the injury of six others.”
In Kashtigarh district of the district, a woman named Shiv Devi was killed after she was hit by a stone near her home. Officials said that the body of Vikas Ahmed, who was swept away by floods, was recovered from Salani area of Rajouri town. This brings the total number of rain-related accidents in three districts of Poonch, Rajouri and Doda to 22 people compared to 11 on Sunday, many of whom are still missing.
Prime Minister Omar Abdullah announced a free scholarship exemption $6 thousand pounds for the relatives of the deceased.
In Uttarakhand, a child went missing after being swept away by the swollen Saryu river in Kapcot area of Bageshwar district, while another person died after being struck by lightning in a forest near Phu village in Darchula area of Pithoragarh district, officials said.
The IMD has issued a red alert for heavy to very heavy rainfall in Dehradun, Tehri and Haridwar districts, and an orange alert for the remaining districts.
Meanwhile, Nagaland Chief Minister Nephiu Rio visited the landslide-hit Mon town on Monday, where nine people are feared to have died the previous day. Four bodies were found on Sunday, and officials said two more bodies were found on Monday. “The total bodies recovered reach seven. Two more people are still missing under the rubble and search and rescue volunteers continue to search for them,” Deputy Commissioner Moon Winnie Konyak told HT.
5 members of one family were killed in a house collapse in Obe
Five members of a family, including four children, died after their house collapsed late Sunday amid heavy rains in Habibpur village in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, officials said. The district administration announced the ex-gratia on Monday $5 thousand for each of the relatives of the deceased.
