Two dead in a span of week; IMD predicts heavy rainfall in state till June 22
SHILLONG, June 18: Monsoon showers have wreaked havoc in various parts of the state with thousands of people being affected and reports of two deaths surfacing even as the Met department has issued a weather warning on Tuesday of extremely heavy rainfall to continue till June 22.
The deceased were identified as Probino Warbah (48) of Tynring village in East Khasi Hills and Kantly Maram (49) of Nongkroh Rambrai village in West Khasi Hills.
Warbah drowned on June 10 while Maram lost his life in a lightning strike on June 12, officials of the State Disaster Management Authority said on Tuesday.
Over 3,030 people across 42 villages in six districts have been affected following continuous rainfall since June 10.
All districts have been directed to take steps to activate district Incident Response Teams, keep District Emergency Operation Centres operational 24×7, issue advisories to the public, and initiate relief measures.
Minister in charge of Disaster Management, Kyrmen Shylla on Tuesday said that as per the data collected so far, the worst affected district is West Garo Hills.
He informed that in the last 48 hours, 11 villages with a combined population of 200 were affected in West Garo Hills. Reports of damage to school buildings and other infrastructure have also poured in.
According to Shylla, in South West Khasi Hills, a landslide occurred under Mawkyrwat C&RD Block and affecting eight families. Detailed assessment is being done by officers on the ground, he said.
Two villages were affected due to landslide under Nongstoin C&RD Block in West Khasi Hills while heavy rainfall and landslips blocked the National Highway 6 at Lumshnong in East Jaintia Hills, completely halting traffic movement for several hours.
South West Khasi Hills continues to experience very heavy rainfall which has disrupted the lives of the general public resulting in damages to houses and public property like roads and footpath.
11 cattle heads were killed in a lightning strike at Rangthong village, 15 km from Mawkyrwat. The cattle belonged to one Tonel Iawphniaw from Rangthong village.
Official sources said the excessive downpour resulted in landslides in several locations and also power disruptions across the district in the past 24 hours.
Two houses in Lower Mawpud, three houses in Dommawlein, two houses in Sarin and one house in Nongpdeng Kenbah suffered major damages due to landslides.
Local people also informed that two houses in Mawsain village, 18 km from Mawkyrwat, suffered major damages to landslides in which one person suffered minor injuries.
The downpour also damaged the public property in which the Rangthong-Sarin road, Rangblang-Wahkaji road and the footpath at Sarin village suffered partial damages due to minor landslips.
The District Disaster Management Authority cleared the mudslides with the help of the Village Disaster Management Committees and the locals. The PWD assisted in clearing the landslide-affected areas to restore traffic movement.