Kohima: The unprecedented series of disaster in Nagaland, mostly landslides and floods triggered by extreme weather condition this monsoon in the state has left a trial of tragedy and devastation in the wake.
As per the assessment of damage inflicted since the beginning of monsoon carried out by the Nagaland State Disaster Management Authority (NSDMA), Home Department, 12 lives have been lost, 532 villages and 48821 families affected and 2,61,115 population, which is 13.19 pc of the total population, bore the brunt. The State capital, Kohima and particularly the districts of Tuensang, Kiphire and Phek were most severely affected.
The three districts were cut off from the rest of the State for about 15 days since the rains became incessant from July 2. About 359 locations of roads have been totally cut off sending the State into a SoS situation, the NSDMA stated.
Even though the monsoon rains caused havoc all over the State, two incidents caused major alarm. In Wokha district, the water level at Doyang Hydro Electric Project (DHEP) started rising above the normal level EI.324.30M limit on July 27, 2018.
This, according to the Manager of the Dam & Spillway Division, was due to incessant rain in the upstream catchment area of the DHEP. This resulted in discharge of a huge volume of water thereby affecting the villages in the downstream of Wokha district and around 64 villages in Assam. In Phek district, on July 27, owing to incessant rains, a major landslip caused a huge amount of debris to block the Sidzu River. (PTI)
