Monsoon fury has continued to lash several states across India, with the weather department issuing rains alerts for Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Odisha among others.
Bodies of five pilgrims, including three women, who lost their lives to a landslide that occurred on the Kedarnath highway have been recovered, officials said, adding that rescue operations concluded at 7:30 am.
Meanwhile, a deep depression over the Bay of Bengal made landfall near Odisha's Puri, prompting the state government to gear up for relief and rescue operations in the districts likely to be affected by the adverse weather.
Weather Wrap | Rains, IMD Alerts & More
Landslide, Heavy Rains In Uttarakhand
As heavy rains battered Uttarakhand, a landslide at Mankutiya along the 5-km stretch between Sonprayag and Gaurikund claimed the lives of five pilgrims.
Rudraprayag Superintendent of Police Akshay Konde said that rescue operations concluded at 7:30 am. Notably, traffic along the Mankutiya route had been restored only a few days ago after a 150-metre damaged stretch of the road was repaired.
The landslide took place around 7:20 am on Monday while a group of pilgrims, on foot, were returning from Kedarnath.
State Disaster Response Fund and National Disaster Response Fund personnel had launched a rescue operation. Three injured pilgrims, who were also rescued in these effort, were rushed to a hospital in Sonprayag.
The India Meteorological Department has predicted "isolated very heavy rainfall" likely over Uttarakhand during September 11 and 13.
The weather office also issued a Flash Flood Risk alert till September 11 for Almore, Bageshwar, Chamoli, Dehradun, Nainital, Pauri Garhwal, Pithoragarh, Rudraprayag, Tehri Garhwal and Uttarkashi districts.
After Deep Depression, Rains Wreak Havoc In Odisha
Roads were damaged, power supply damaged and several areas were inundated as heavy rains triggered by a deep depression wreaked havoc in southern Odisha on Tuesday.
Malkangiri, Koraput, Kandhamal, Rayagada, Gajapati and Ganjam were among the affected districts. Schools were also shut in three of these districts, including the worst-hit Malkangiri.
The connectivity between Odisha and Andhra Pradesh was also disrupted as the roads linking Malkangiri to Koraput were washed away at several places. Officials said that around 2,000 people have been shifted to safer places so far.
A deep depression over the Bay of Bengal made landfall near Odisha's Puri, with the state government on Monday geared up for relief and rescue operations in the districts likely to be affected by the adverse weather.
According to IMD, a deep depression is a more intense stage of low-pressure system and typically precedes the formation of cyclonic storm.
"The landfall process for any system, whether a depression or a cyclone, takes time. The current system made landfall between 10.30 am and 11.30 am with wind speeds between 55 km/hour and 65 km/hour," said Manorama Mohanty, Director of the Regional Meteorological Centre in Bhubaneswar.
Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF), National Disaster Response Force and the Odisha Fire Service have been deployed for rescue and relief works in the affected areas, officials said.
According to IMD's forecast, Odisha is likely to experience heavy rainfall till Wednesday.
Chhattisgarh Rains: Lightning Kills 2
In separate incidents of lightning strike in Chhattisgarh's Korba districts, two persons lost their lives on Monday, police officials said.
A 15-year-old Harish Binjhwar died after he was struck by lightning while grazing cattle in Mahuadih village under the Hardibazar police station area, while Jagat Singh Uraon -- a priest -- died when lightning struck a temple under the Rajgamar police Chowki area.
In both the cases, police registered accidental death reports, official said, adding that compensation will be given to the kin of the deceased as per the government policy.
As per the weather office's forecast, Chhattisgarh is very likely to experience isolated very heavy rainfall on Tuesday and heavy rainfall during September 14-16.
In its flash flood guidance for Chhattisgarh, IMD issued flash flood risk alert till September 11 for the districts of Balod, Bilaspur, Durg, Mungeli and Rajnandgaon.
Madhya Pradesh: IMD Issues Red Alert
Madhya Pradesh braced for extremely heavy rainfall as the Met office issued a red alert for the state for September 10 and 11.
"Isolated very heavy rainfall very likely over Madhya Pradesh during September 10-14," the IMD bulletin added.
Dr Ved Prakash Singh, a senior weather scientist from Bhopal, explained that a deep depression near Odisha will become stronger in the next 24 hours. "The monsoon trough is passing through Madhya Pradesh, leading to heavy to very heavy rainfall in different parts of the state," he was quoted as saying by the Free Press Journal.
Meanwhile, IMD also issued a Flash Flood Risk alert for the West Madhya Pradesh districts of Agar-Malwa, Bhopal, Burhanpur, Dhar, Guna, Harda, Jhabua, Khandwa, Raisen, Rajgarh, Ratlam, Videsha and Hoshangabad.
It also issued moderate to high flash flood risk "likely over few watersheds and neighbourhoods" during next 24 hours in East Madhya Pradesh districts of Anuppur, Balaghat, Chhatarpur, Chhindwara, Damoh, Dindori, Jabalpur, Katni, Mandla, Narshimapura, Niwari, Panna, Rewa, Sagar, Satna, Seoni, Shahdol, Sidhi, Singrauli, Tikamgarh and Umaria.
