(Combines related stories)
Heavy rain triggered a massive landslide on National Highway-6 that links Mizoram with the rest of the country, officials said on Friday.
The landslide occurred at Hunthar area on the western outskirts of Aizawl, they said. There have been no reports of fatalities so far.
Work is underway to clear the debris on the stretch of the national highway, they said.
In North Sikkim, incessant rain on Thursday night resulted in the overflow of nearby rivers leading to the flash flood that engulfed the highway.
Areas such as Lachen and Lachung in North Sikkim have been cut off from the rest of the state due to flash flood, they said.
The flash flood has caused severe damage to infrastructure along the highway, making it unsafe for any kind of vehicular movement, officials said.
Local authorities are currently assessing the situation and Border Roads Organisation is working to clear the debris and restore normalcy.
However, it is expected to take some time before the highway can be reopened for traffic, they said.
The road is also blocked due to landslide at 13th mile and Thulo Khola, Rail khola along JN Road of Gangtok-Nathula route.
All tourist permits have been cancelled for Tsomgo Lake, Baba Mandir, Nathula and North Sikkim till further notice, they added.
In East Jaintia Hills District in Meghalaya, authorities have ordered closure of schools on 16 and 17 June, in view of the heavy rain, whereas in North Garo Hills district, schools will be shut on Friday.
Mudslide at Sonapyrdi/ Sonapur Tunnel on NH 6 from Lumshnong to Malidor has caused disruptions in vehicular traffic. Deputy Commissioner & Chairman, District Disaster Management Authority, East Jaintia Hills on Wednesday issued a public advisory urging public to avoid unnecessary travel on that stretch.
‘However, should travel on this route be unavoidable, the public are advised to carry along with them sufficient food items and potable water in case of such unforeseen eventualities,’ the advisory read.
Meanwhile in Assam the flood condition deteriorated on Thursday with nearly 29,000 people reeling under the deluge across three districts of the state due to incessant rain, an official bulletin said.
According to the daily flood report of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), more than 28,800 people are hit due to floods in Dhemaji, Dibrugarh and Lakhimpur districts.
Lakhimpur is the worst hit with over 23,500 people affected, followed by Dibrugarh with more than 3,800 people and Dhemaji with almost 1,500 persons, it added.
Till Wednesday, nearly 21,000 people were affected by floods across two districts of Assam.
The administration has launched three relief distribution centres in the Lakhimpur district, but no relief camp has been started as of now.
At present, 25 villages are under water and 215.57 hectares of crop areas have been damaged across Assam, ASDMA said.
Massive erosions have been witnessed in Biswanath, Bongaigaon, Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Lakhimpur, Morigaon, Sonitpur and Udalguri districts, the ASDMA said.
Some places in Cachar and Kamrup Metropolitan reported incidents of landslides due to heavy rainfall.
Embankments, roads, bridges and other infrastructure have been damaged by flood waters in Lakhimpur, Goalpara, Biswanath, Dhemaji, Baksa, Dima Hasao and Karimganj districts.
No river is flowing above the danger mark in Assam as of now, it added.
The Guwahati-based Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) on Wednesday had predicted heavy rainfall activity over the Northeastern region during the next five days.
For three days, the RMC had issued ‘Orange Alert’, followed by ‘Yellow Alert’ for the subsequent two days.
‘Yellow Alert’ stands for watch and be updated, while ‘Orange Alerts’ implies to be prepared for action.
Read more: Nagaland SDMA issues weather advisory
