Rain: Jharkhand on alert mode, death toll rises to six

Hindustan Times

20-06-2025

Ranchi, The Jharkhand government on Friday asked officials to be on alert mode as IMD warned of very heavy downpour while the toll due to rain in the state rose to six with two more deaths. Rain: Jharkhand on alert mode, death toll rises to six
The India Meteorological Department issued a fresh warning for very heavy rainfall over isolated areas of northwestern Jharkhand, with heavy rain expected in parts of north-central and northeastern districts over the next few days.
Thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and gusty winds are also likely in some places.
A two-year-old child died after a mud house collapsed in heavy rain in Lembua village in Chatra district on Friday while a 40-year-old private security guard was washed away in a drain in Mango locality of Jamshedpur, officials said.
Heavy rainfall on Thursday claimed the lives of four people, including two schoolboys and a 10-year-old girl, while another person went missing at a waterfall, officials said.
The relentless downpour caused significant infrastructural damage across several districts.
Incidents of house, bridge, and wall collapses were reported while several rivers were in spate prompting the state government to activate emergency response teams, including the National Disaster Response Force NDRF for rescue operations.
A two-year-old child died after a mud house collapsed in heavy rain in Lembua village of Tandwa police station area of Chatra district, about 120 km from capital Ranchi.
Tandwa Circle Officer Vijay Kumar Das said that the incident took place at 11 am on Friday when the child was sleeping inside the house and a part of the mud house collapsed.
The family of the deceased will be given a compensation amount of ₹ 4 lakh under the Disaster Relief Fund.
In a separate incident in Jamshedpur, a 40-year-old private security guard Sanjay Verma was washed away while trying to cross a water-filled drain.
The local residents retrieved the body and informed police, who shifted him to MGM Hospital where doctors declared him dead.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Hemant Soren interacted with deputy commissioners of all districts through video conferencing and directed them to remain alert in view of heavy rainfall in the state.
He asked all deputy commissioners to take effective steps to deal with damage caused by heavy rains and the problem of waterlogging.
He also asked officials to coordinate with local authorities and try to end waterlogging situation as soon as possible.
"The damage caused to infrastructure like roads, bridges, houses, crops, etc, in districts should be assessed and an immediate report should be sent to the state government so that there is no delay in providing relief and compensation to the affected people.
"The CM directed DCs of all districts to keep control rooms set up fully active. In view of heavy rainfall, take help of NDRF team as well as local people to avoid any kind of untoward incident at tourist places like waterfalls, barrages, etc. The CM said that security personnel should also be deployed at waterfall as per requirement," a statement from the Chief Minister's office said.
In Jamshedpur Deputy Commissioner East Singhbhum district Karn Satyarthi on Friday visited various areas affected by incessant rain as rivers Kharkhai and Swarnarekha continued to flow above danger mark.
The spate in rivers Kharkhai and Swarnarekha continued as ten radial gates of Chandil dam opened releasing 3,109 cusecs of water and two each gates of Banabal and Kharkhar dams of Odisha opened, an official statement said.
Hundreds of houses in catchment areas and residential apartments were inundated including in Bagbeda, Mango, Sonari, Bhuiyadih, Kadma localities during relentless rains, which also caused waterlogging.
On Thursday Jharkhand saw four casualties due to rain while a portion of a bridge over the Banai River in Khunti's Torpa area collapsed, disrupting traffic on the Khunti-Simdega road.
A portion of the boundary wall of Sonari airport in Jamshedpur collapsed due to incessant rain, officials said.
Schools in affected areas, including Ranchi and Khunti, were closed on Thursday and Friday as a precautionary measure.
In Seraikela-Kharsawan, an abandoned residential building owned by Tayo Rolls, a Tata Steel subsidiary, collapsed in Gamharia on Thursday morning.
The building had been vacated earlier and declared unsafe, Tata Steel had said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the southwest monsoon has advanced further over most of Bihar and parts of eastern Uttar Pradesh.
IMD said a well-marked low-pressure area persists over northeast Jharkhand and adjoining Gangetic West Bengal, supported by an upper air cyclonic circulation extending up to 7.6 km.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.