Floods claim 55 lives in Assam and Bihar, red alert sounded in Kerala

Source: indiatoday.in

aging flood waters battered Assam and parts of Bihar with the death toll in the two states mounting to 55 Tuesday, while rain-related incidents claimed 14 lives in Uttar Pradesh.

A red alert was also sounded in Kerala for extremely heavy rains with an India Meteorological Department (IMD) bulletin saying that over 204 mm rains are likely in 24 hours in six districts of the southern state.

In the north, heavy rains continued to lash Punjab and Haryana while the national capital received light showers for a second consecutive day.

At least 33 people have been killed in flash floods in Bihar till Tuesday evening and 25.71 lakh people are affected in 16 districts of the state.

According to officials, unusual torrential rainfall in Nepal and subsequent massive discharge of water in rivers led to flash floods in Bihar where more than one lakh people have been moved to safer areas.

In Assam, the deluge has affected 33 districts of the state and claimed 17 lives. More than 45 lakh people have been hit by the nature’s fury, officials said.

Ninety per cent of the famed Kaziranga National Park in Golaghat and Nagaon districts of the state is still submerged, a statement from the Assam Ministry of Forest and Environment said. The Kaziranga National Park is home to the world’s largest population of Indian one-horned rhinoceroses.

With over 150 anti-poaching camps in the Kaziranga National Park affected by the floods, the authorities are working round-the-clock to check poaching at the UNESCO World Heritage site.

According to Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) report, Brahmaputra river and its tributaries are flowing above the danger level in most of the affected districts, including in Guwahati.

In Guwahati, the flood waters of the Brahmaputra have submerged Uzanbazar, Kharguli and Bharalamukh areas.

The flood situation in Manas National Park and Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary is also critical as vast stretches in them have been inundated and animals are moving towards the neighbouring highlands.

Five persons had died earlier in rain-related incidents in Mizoram.

Meanwhile, light rains and a cloud cover kept the mercury in check in the national capital. The Safdarjung Observatory, which provides official figures for the city, reported 29.2 mm of rains till 8:30 am, the maximum in the monsoon season this year.

The city recorded a high of 33.4 degrees Celsius, two notches below normal, and a low of 24 degrees Celsius.

In neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, 14 people were killed Tuesday in rain-related incidents, a government release said. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath directed district magistrates concerned to immediately provide Rs 4 lakh to the families of the victims.

Meanwhile, heavy rains continued to lash many parts of Punjab and Haryana. The water level of Ghaggar river in Patiala district was flowing close to the danger mark in the morning, but by the evening, the level reduced, officials said.

“There was localised flooding in some parts, but there is no need to panic,” Patiala Deputy Commissioner Kumar Amit said.

There were also reports of heavy rains in Bathinda in Punjab and Ambala in Haryana, leading to water-logging in many low-lying areas.

Chandigarh recorded a high of 28.3 degrees Celsius, five notches below normal limits, a Meteorological Department report said here.

The MeT has forecast more rains in the two states till Thursday.

Rains in several parts of Himachal Pradesh brought down the day temperatures in the state, with Karsog being the wettest with 70 mm of rainfall.

Weather across India: Bihar heatwave claims 61 lives, rain brings respite for Northern states | 12 points

Source: indiatoday.in

The weather in India has been difficult for the population of the country with the heatwaves dominating the weather for the past few weeks. According to reports, there have been 32 heatwaves this year in India, the second-longest spell of high temperatures in the country’s recorded history. The heatwave conditions prevailing in most parts of the country has claimed at least 44 lives in Bihar in a day, even as rain brought down the mercury in some western and northern states on Sunday.

Here are the weather conditions in various states

1. Rain and thunderstorm has been predicted on Monday in Uttar Pradesh, where sweltering heat continued unabated with Allahabad in the eastern part being the hottest at 45.3 degree Celsius, six notches above the normal. Sultanpur, Varanasi and Basti in the state recorded 45 degrees Celsius, 44.2 degrees Celsius and 44 degrees Celsius respectively.

2. Blistering heatwave condition continued unabated in Bihar, where at least 61 people died on Saturday. The state government has ordered closure of schools till June 19. According to officials, 22 people died in Aurangabad, 20 in Gaya and two in Nawada districts due to the heatwave. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has expressed grief over the deaths and announced an ex gratia of Rs four lakh for the next of kin of the victims.

3. In Delhi, traces of rain and strong wind reduced the daytime temperature which settled at 36.3 degrees Celsius, three notches below the normal. The weatherman has predicted overcast conditions and thunderstorm accompanied with light rains on Monday.

4. Parts of Rajasthan witnessed rain since Saturday, bringing respite from the sweltering conditions. The state capital recorded 9.2 mm of rains on Sunday, the meteorological department said. Bhim in Rajsamand gauged 7 cm of rains followed by 4 cm in Tibi of Hanumangarh and 3 cm each in Chirawa, Sri Ganganagar, Hanumangarh and Sangaria since Saturday.

5. Similarly, rainfall in Ahmedabad and rest of Gujarat brought respite from the scorching heat. The maximum temperature in Ahmedabad hovered around 37 degree Celsius, the IMD said. North Gujarat and Saurashtra-Kutch regions are likely to receive heavy rain on Monday under the influence of Cyclone Vayu, the MeT department said. On Sunday morning, the cyclone remained centred about 470 km west-southwest of Porbandar, 440 km southwest of Dwarka and 545 km southwest of Bhuj, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said in a bulletin.

Monsoon is expected to advance further up north as Cyclone Vayu loses intensity paving the way for the wind system to move towards the Arabian Sea, the weatherman said Sunday.

6. By now, monsoon should have reached the central India, including parts of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, eastern Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat, but it is yet to reach Maharashtra. It still remains over Mangalore, Mysore, Cuddalore over the southern peninsula and Passighat, Agartala in the northeast, according to the India Meteorological Department.

7. The western coast – from Maharashtra to Gujarat – has been receiving rainfall due to the cyclone. Only coastal Karnataka and Kerala have received rains due to monsoon.

8. Monsoon is likely to set in in Telangana around June 20 and in Andhra Pradesh by June 18, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

9. The public in Tamil Nadu has been advised not to expose themselves to direct sunlight between 11.00 am and 4.00 pm to avoid sunstroke, a Regional Meteorological Centre has said. Chennai and its neighbouring areas and several other northern districts in Tamil Nadu have been reeling under heatwave-like conditions for the past several days with the mercury hovering over 41 degree Celsius.

10. This year’s heatwave has not even spared the Himalayan state of Jammu and Kashmir. Jammu recorded a maximum temperature of 39.6 degrees Celsius on Sunday, the weatherman said.

11. The weather remained mainly dry in Himachal Pradesh on Sunday even as the maximum temperature fell by 3 to 4 degrees from normal, Shimla MeT Centre director Manmohan Singh said.

12. Some states experienced pleasant conditions with little to moderate rain. Sirsa, Fatehabad, Mahendergarh in Haryana and Amritsar, Gurdaspur and a few other areas in Punjab received welcome showers.

According to meteorological department forecast, light to moderate rain is likely at a few places on June 16, 17 and 18 in Haryana, Punjab and Chandigarh. Meanwhile, four people, including two brothers, were killed in separate incidents of lightning strike during rain and thunderstorm in northern part of Chhattisgarh on Saturday, police said.

Suspected outbreak of encephalitis claims lives of 21 children in Patna this year

Source: newindianexpress.com

PATNA: The outbreak of suspected encephalitis in North Bihar’s Muzaffarpur and its some adjoining districts included Vaishali has reportedly claimed the lives of around 21 children from January to May 9. As many as 18 children, diagnosed with the syndrome of encephalitis, have been admitted in Muzaffarpur based SKMCH and other private clinics.

The outbreak has gone beyond the Muzaffarpur and many children belonging to extremely poor families, have also been diagnosed with the syndrome of acute encephalitis  in neighbouring Vaishali, Sheohar, East and West Champaran districts. On Sunday alone, 4 new suspected cases of encephalitis diagnosed with four children were brought and admitted at SKMCH in Muzaffarpur.

“This time again after a gap of the last three years, the outbreak of syndrome of encephalitis has been reported. It occurs only when heat coupled with extreme humidity rises to an extreme level. It is contained as soon s Monsoon arrives”, Dr M Singh said, adding that sudden loss in the level of sugar in the body leads to collapse of life support functioning in the body of a minor.

Meanwhile, Reena Devi of Muzaffarpur said her 6-year-old son Raghu developed a symptom of high fever with breathing problem suddenly after returning from a nearby mango orchard in Motipur.

“Now, he has been admitted at SKMCH  under critical condition”, she said, adding that fearing further casualties in many remote areas of Muzaffarpur like Saraiya, Sherpur and others, many families have left the villages.

On Saturday, Prince Kumar of Vaishali and Chanda Kumari of Sheohar died while on Friday and other past few days, Madhu Kumari, Pawan Kumar, Sonu Kumar and many other minors had died in Muzaffarpur and other private clinics during treatments.

State health minister Mangal Panday claimed that all efforts are on to save the lives of children, who are being diagnosed with symptoms of encephalitis. Dr S K Shahi, superintendent of SKMCH, told the media that all arrangements have been made to check the outbreak of this disease.

He admitted that nearly 38 kids with symptoms of encephalitis were admitted between January and June this year. According to Muzaffarpur civil surgeon Dr SP Singh, a team of health department had recently visited the SKMCH and held a high-level meeting with doctors on the outbreak.