Bihar flood toll rises to 172, four killed in Assam landslide

With four more deaths, the toll in the Bihar floods today went up to 172 even as four members of a family were washed away in a landslide triggered by heavy rains near Silchar in Assam.

In Bihar, two fresh deaths were reported at Begusarai and one each at Bhojpur and Samastipur, taking the toll due to the floods to 172, a statement from the State Disaster Management department said here, adding that 61 animals have also perished in the calamities so far.

Heavy rains lashed the national capital for the second consecutive day today.

The Safdarjung observatory, which had recorded 63.5 mm rainfall till 8.30 am, recorded 5.9 mm rainfall during the day, while the reading at the Palam observatory was 18.9 mm.
 

The maximum temperature settled at 31 degrees Celsius, three notches below normal, while the minimum was recorded at 25.2 degrees Celsius, a notch below normal, a MeT official said.

Commuters again faced a tough time in the morning rush hours. Traffic snarls were also witnessed on roads leading to Gurgaon and Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport. Heavy rain affected flight operations too.

Yesterday, the city had received the season's highest rainfall of 63.1 mm.

Swirling waters have inundated 12 districts of Buxar, Bhojpur, Patna, Vaishali, Saran, Begusarai, Samastipur, Lakhisarai, Khagaria, Munger, Bhagalpur and Katihar.

According to Central Flood Control, the water level of the Ganga receded at Digha ghat, Gandhi ghat (both in Patna district) and Munger but the river was flowing above the danger mark at Hathidah, Sahebganj and Farakka.

The Sone river was flowing 55 cm below the danger level at Maner in Patna district, a Central Water Commission statement said, adding that the Budhi Gandak was flowing 131 cm above the red mark at Khagaria.

A total of 37.70 lakh people were affected by the flood at different parts of the state, the statement said.

The swirling waters of the Ganga, Sone, Punpun, Burhi Gandak, Ghaghra, Kosi and other rivers have inundated 77 blocks and 2,029 villages, it added.

The mercury level in the state remained normal due to light rains in parts of the state. Patna recorded 11 mm rain in and a maximum temperature of 34.7 degrees Celsius.