OUR CORRESPONDENT
ITANAGAR: The flood situation in Arunachal Pradesh improved marginally on Friday with improvement in the weather condition, affecting over 33,000 people in 24 districts of the northeastern state, officials said.
At least 12 people have lost their lives due to landslides and floods triggered by monsoon rain this year, while search operations are underway for a missing person, a report from the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) said.
As many as 215 villages across various districts with a total population of 33,200 were affected due to floods and landslides, while most of the major rivers and their tributaries are in spate but flowing below the normal level, the report said.
Altogether, 512 houses were damaged across the state, and 432 livestock deaths were reported, including 335 poultry and 97 animals so far.
Of the fatalities due to landslides and flood-related incidents, seven were reported from East Kameng, two from Lower Subansiri and one each from Longding, Lohit, and Anjaw districts.
Nine of the deceased lost their lives due to landslides, one in a flood-related incident, another due to a wall collapse, and a person was killed in May after a tree fell on him during inclement weather conditions in Longding district, the officials said.
Four others were also injured during the natural calamities, he said.
Changlang is the worst-affected district, with six villages inundated and 2,231 people rendered homeless. Flash floods washed away the Makantong Bridge on the Trans-Arunachal Highway, cutting off road connectivity between Miao and Bordumsa. The authorities have decided to press ferry services for the people.
Several areas in the Miao subdivision remain submerged, with significant losses reported in livestock and horticultural property, the officials said.
The swollen Noa-Dehing River has caused damage to agricultural and horticultural fields in the Dharmapur block under the Namphai circle, they said.
The water supply projects in Changlang town, Namtok extra assistant commissioner headquarters, Yatdam circle, Phinbiro-I and II villages and Rang Hill village in the district were damaged by landslides, triggering a drinking water crisis. Additionally, floods and landslides damaged around 17 hectares of farmland and 20 hectares of horticulture plantations. Three hanging bridges at Phaparbari, Two Hut and Lama Camp were also damaged by floods in Changlang district, the report said.
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