Ranchi/ Seraikela, Aug 23: Five people were killed, one person was missing, and several others were injured as heavy rains wreaked havoc in parts of Jharkhand, officials said on Saturday morning.
The IMD issued a red alert of extremely heavy rainfall for Palamu, Garhwa and Chatra districts till 8.30 am on Sunday, while an orange alert was issued for Latehar, Ranchi, Khunti, Lohardaga, Seraikela-Kharswan, East and West Singhbhum districts.
A woman and her seven-year-old son died after their house collapsed in Seraikela-Kharsawan district on Friday night, officials said.
Eight more people were injured in the incident, which happened in Dandu village in Rajnagar block, they said.
“The woman and her son died during treatment at the MGM Hospital in Jamshedpur. Eight others were also injured as the kuchcha house of one Santosh Lohar collapsed,” Rajnagar’s BDO Malay Das told PTI.
The incident happened when relatives were visiting Lohar’s house, a police officer said.
In another incident in the district, a five-year-old died and three others were injured as the wall of a house collapsed on Saturday morning, police said.
The incident happened around 4 am in Kol Shimla in the Kharsawan police station area, they said.
“The wall of the house of one Munna Bodra collapsed. His five-year-old son died on the spot, while Bodra, his wife and their two-year-old daughter were injured. They have been admitted to the Seraikela Sadar Hospital,” Kharsawan police station’s officer-in-charge Gaurav Kumar said.
In Chatra district, a couple was washed away in the swelling Siyari river on Friday, police said.
The incident happened in Katghara village, he said.
“The body of the husband was recovered, while the wife is still missing,” Gidhour’s BDO Rahul Dev told PTI.
A person was also killed in Khairatola village in Pathalgada block of the district in a rain-related incident, officials said.
Incessant rains have lashed the state over the last 24 hours. As a result, trees and electricity poles were uprooted in several places, houses collapsed, and roads and farmlands were inundated.
In Ranchi, concrete slabs on both sides of an under-construction rail overbridge near the Piska station collapsed, causing a major traffic jam on NH 43, an official said.
No casualty was reported in the incident, he said.
Waterlogging on NH-39 at Brambe Bazar in the capital also caused a major traffic disruption, while a road leading to Jagannath temple in Dhurwa developed a major crack.
Houses in low-lying areas such as Panchshil Nagar, Hindipir, Morabadi, Kokar, Namkum, New Bandhgari and Samlong were inundated.
In Chatra’s Pathgada, hundreds of chickens died at a poultry farm amid heavy rains.
The Subernarekha river was flowing above the danger mark at Mango bridge in Jamshedpur. The Kharkai river was also flowing above the red mark at Adityapur bridge.
An alert was issued in Lohardaga after a rise in the water levels in different rivers. Several roads were damaged in the district in the rain.
In Koderma district, the water level in the Tilaiya dam reached the danger mark, following which eight sluice gates were opened.
Ranchi Meteorological Centre’s in-charge Baburaj PP told PTI, “Light to moderate rainfall with spells of heavy rain is being experienced across the state under the influence of a low-pressure system. It is likely to move west-northwest across Jharkhand during the next 24 hours and weaken gradually thereafter.”
The state is likely to experience rainfall till August 29, he said.
Latehar’s Chandra recorded the state’s highest maximum rainfall at 205 mm in the 24 hours till 8.30 am, followed by Seraikela (146 mm), Ranchi (120 mm) and Chaibasa (120 mm).
“Jharkhand received 927.7 mm of rainfall against the normal of 738.3 mm between June 1 and August 23, a surplus of 32 per cent,” the official said. (PTI)
