Guwahati, May 24: After weeks of intense rain, which has resulted in several parts of northeast India recording above-average pre-monsoon precipitation, the wet spell has finally dipped in terms of intensity and distribution. Nevertheless, the not-so-intense showers shall continue drenching Northeast India for the week to come.
As per the India Meteorological Department (IMD), a cyclonic circulation over Northeast India will dump scattered to fairly widespread rains of light to moderate intensity across Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Sub-Himalayan West Bengal, and Sikkim for the next five days and possibly beyond.
Arunachal Pradesh will also experience similar conditions in this forecast period, albeit with a decreased rainfall distribution of isolated to scattered.
With the likelihood of thunderstorms negligible, the region will not be placed under any weather advisory for the week. However, this may change if the weather situation escalates.
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Owing to these persistent rain spells, both Assam (737.9 mm) and Meghalaya (1445.1 mm) have registered ‘large excess’ rainfall as compared to their respective average figures for the pre-monsoon season so far (between March 1 and May 23).
In the same period, Manipur (407.2 mm) and Sikkim (788.7 mm) have recorded ‘excess’ rains; Arunachal (795.7 mm) and Nagaland (378.2 mm) have witnessed ‘normal’ rainfall; whereas Mizoram (347.5 mm) and Tripura (419.1 mm) have suffered ‘deficit’ precipitation.
Meanwhile, as the strength of the rainfall has decreased, the flood situation in Assam has also seen a marginal improvement.
The number of people affected by this pre-monsoon flooding, which has impacted the state since May 13, reduced from 7.19 lakh people on Sunday to 6.5 lakh on Monday. These 6,50,402 affected, which include 1,25,471 children, reside in 1,709 villages based in 22 of the state’s 34 districts, as per the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) officials.
The statewide death toll due to floods and landslides also rose to 25 on Monday, after one more death was recorded in the Cachar district in the previous 24 hours.
A total of 290 relief distribution centres and 366 relief camps have been opened in all the affected areas, and the camps currently house about 90,597 people. Close to 82,503 hectares of crop areas in flood-hit areas remain affected.
Round-the-clock rescue and rehabilitation work has continued, with the Army, the National Disaster Response Force, the State Disaster Response Force, the Assam Rifles and the district administrations collectively working towards rescuing stranded people and providing relief to the marooned groups.
