New Delhi, September 4: A total of 1,400 people have died due to rains, floods and landslides in 10 states during the monsoon this year since May 28, claimed the Union home ministry’s National Emergency Response Centre on Monday. The number of people died this year due to rains and floods is as high as the people killed in 2015 and 2016. In 2015 as many as 1480 people lost their lives, while in 2016, 1420 deaths occurred due to rains.
This year’s monsoon is one of the most destructive. The Kerala floods alone claimed 488 lives. Flash floods in the state between August 8 and 28 rendered many people homeless. Millions of people were shifted to relief camps. State chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that the state had suffered financial loss around Rs 19,500 crore.
As many as 254 people have died in Uttar Pradesh this year. On Monday, 10 people died in the state due to rain-related incidents. According to the centre, a total of 210 people died in West Bengal, while 170 in Karnataka lost their lives. Heavy rains and floods also claimed lives in the western states of the country. As many as 139 people died in Maharashtra, whereas 52 in Gujarat lost their lives. Heavy rains also claimed 50 lives in Assam, 37 in Uttarakhand, 29 in Odisha and 11 in Nagaland.
In Assam, 11.47 lakh people have borne the brunt of the rains and floods, which have also hit crops on 27,964 hectares of land. In West Bengal, the deluges have hit 2.28 lakh people and damaged crops on 48,552 hectares of land.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecasted heavy rains in some parts of northern India over the next two days. The department has issued a warning that the weather conditions in the northern part of the country is under the influence of the cyclonic circulations.
Last year, around 500 people died in Bihar floods. The floods were a result of a sudden increase in water discharge due to torrential rain in the foothill of the Himalayas in Nepal and adjoining areas in Bihar between August 12 and 20.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 04, 2018 09:16 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).