Agartala: Tripura Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha Saturday visited the relief camps opened on Friday in several southern locations of the city after incessant rain caused flash floods in Agartala and directed the administration not only to provide their food and other necessities but also to assess their damages.
According to Nodal Officer of State Disaster Management authority Dr Sarat Das, the flood water in several locations in the embankment of Hora River of Agartala has not receded yet because water from the hill streams has been flowing down to the river for the second day.
“Around 2000 people from the Hora embankment area and various low-lying areas have been shifted to 20 relief camps in the city. The Sub-divisional administration had issued an early warning for shifting the families on Friday who was residing in the river banks and around the main channels but they denied but at late night they were rescued by the emergency response team after inundation,” Dr Das said.
He pointed out that Chief Minister along with the officials visited the relief camps and interacted with the victim’s families. The administration has been asked to provide all amenities to the victims and assured them the government would take all possible steps to manage the situation.
“The normal rainfall for Agartala was predicted 195 mm for the month of June but, on Friday alone in 24 hours, the city received 180 mm rainfall that triggered flash flood, inundation and water logging in the city. Although the rain was spread over the state, the intensity of rainfall in two hours in the city was very high and caused water logging,” he stated.
This is for the second time in a month that Agartala received such heavy rainfall in a short span, which was found to be a very localized phenomenon, Dr Das said adding that the high moisture-bearing clouds caused downpours in the city because of hot and humid surface-atmosphere and no city has the capacity to bear such a large amount of rainwater or drain out immediately.
However, met officials warned of heavy to very heavy rainfall on Saturday across the state along with adjourning states due to the shifting of the monsoon trough towards the southern direction of the Northeast and strong south-westerly movement of the wind.
