Rain continues to batter Maharashtra, swollen Godavari floods Andhra

Heavy rainfall continued to disrupt normal life in several parts of Maharashtra on Sunday (August 4), while Andhra Pradesh grappled with a swollen Godavari that affected over 74,000 people, though the flood situation improved slightly in Assam.

Heavy rains in Mumbai and adjoining regions crippled normal life for the second consecutive day, throwing train services off the tracks, disrupting air traffic and causing power outages in neighbouring Thane and Palghar districts.

At least four persons died in rain-related incidents in Mumbai, Pune and Palghar districts, while a man is missing after he fell into a swollen nullah in Dharavi in central Mumbai in afternoon. The day of wet spell witnessed at least two rescue operations by the Indian Air Force (IAF) with Mi 17 choppers in the state.

Rains also lashed Nashik, Raigad and Ratnagiri districts, where water-logging was witnessed in various localities as rivers were in full spate. In Pune, district Collector Naval Kishore Ram said the “situation might get critical” and that an advisory has been issued, asking citizens not to venture out of their houses unless absolutely necessary.

In Gujarat, heavy rains continued to lash Vadodara though the situation had eased considerably as the water level in Vishwamitri river was receding, said district authorities.

Vadodara District Collector Shalini Agarwal said a post-flood cleanliness drive had begun, under which officials of the civic health department were working to prevent outbreak of water-borne diseases.

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The continuing heavy flood in Godavari river affected over 74,000 people in parts of East and West Godavari districts in Andhra Pradesh with nearly 18,000 of them being shifted to relief camps, officials said.

A second warning signal was issued at Sir Arthur Cotton Barrage at Dowaleswaram as water flow in the river, which has been in spate since last week following heavy monsoon rains, crossed the 13 lakh cusecs mark on Sunday morning and almost the entire quantum was being let out into the Bay of Bengal.

However, there were no casualties reported and teams of the National Disaster Response Force and the State Disaster Response Force reached out to the affected areas with essential supplies and food.

Flood in Assam claimed one more life on Sunday, pushing the toll to 90, even as the
overall situation improved considerably.

On the other side, hundreds of villages in north Karnataka were inundated following release of over 2 lakh cusecs of water from Koyna dam in neighbouring Maharashtra and torrential rainfall in the region prompting the administration to rope in the Army for relief works. So far, no loss of life has been reported, official sources said adding the administration was on alert.

At least, five districts — Belagavi, Bagalkot, Raichur, Vijayapuram and Yadgir — have been badly affected by the swollen Krishna river, Malaprabha, Markandeya river and a few other rivulets.