Itanagar: Incessant rain triggered flash floods in Arunachal Pradesh’s Keyi Panyor district Wednesday, leaving one dead and four others missing, injuring 17 others and damaging at least 18 residential units, while landslides disrupted road connectivity and stranded travellers, officials said.
The body of Nirmala Gupta (35), a teacher at Vivekananda Kendra Vidyalaya (VKV) on NEEPCO campus at Yazali, was found during search and rescue operations following the devastating flash floods, Keyi Panyor, Superintendent of Police Angad Mehta said.
The search and rescue operations were suspended for the day and would resume at the crack of dawn Thursday, Mehta said.
Gupta was among the five persons who went missing from the NEEPCO project colony near Poosa under the Yazali circle. The remaining missing persons were identified as Elesh Marak (13), Balari Marak (30), Tao Anjina (46) and Sourav Kumar, State Disaster Management secretary Dani Sulu said.
Of the 17 injured, three were in a critical condition and were evacuated to Ziro in Lower Subansiri district for treatment, Sulu said.
An under-construction retaining wall collapsed due to the heavy downpour, leading to waterlogging in low-lying residential areas in and around the colony, he said, adding at least 18 residential units were damaged in the incident.
District police and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) personnel rescued one Bishu Sinha from the Yazali reservoir, while a scientist of the Geological Survey of India (GSI) was rescued from a stretch of National Highway 13 affected by the calamity, police said.
The administration has directed the additional deputy commissioner, the deputy superintendent of police and the circle officer concerned to rush to the affected site for assessment and coordination of rescue operations.
A team of SDRF has been deployed, while the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has been alerted and is moving towards the area to assist in relief and rescue efforts, Sulu said.
An IAF helicopter dropped SDRF personnel and a rubber boat near Pitapool, and all available reserve personnel and vehicles in the Yazali area have been mobilised, while ex-servicemen have also been called in to support emergency operations, he said.
The state Civil Aviation Department had requested the IAF to undertake rescue operations and airlift SDRF men and material from Itanagar to Keyi Panyor, Sulu said.
The IAF air support team, despite difficult weather conditions, reached Hollongi and took off for Pitapool to drop the SDRF team and materials. Further air support exercises have been planned for succeeding requirements, he said.
The North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO) has begun releasing water from the reservoir of the Panyor Lower Hydropower Project as a precautionary measure, and power generation at the project has been temporarily suspended, the secretary said.
Heavy rainfall also disrupted road connectivity in the district, with three stretches of NH-13 near Potin and Hoj blocked by landslides, leaving several people stranded, he said.
As many as six districts — Keyi Panyor, Kra Daadi, Kurung Kumey, Lower Subansiri, Kamle and Upper Subansiri — have been cut off due to monsoon-related disruptions triggered by heavy rainfall, SP Angad Mehta said in a statement.
Major landslides occurred along the Kimin-Ziro route, while damage assessment is underway, he said.
The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has intensified restoration efforts, and connectivity through the Kimin route is expected to be restored by Thursday afternoon, Mehta added.
Landslides have also been reported on the Itanagar-Hoj-Yazali stretch of NH-13.
The road connecting Mepsoro and the Hoj Highway Junction has been completely cut off due to massive landslides at several locations, disrupting vehicular movement.
Restoration work is being carried out on a war footing, though officials said it was too early to estimate when the road would be reopened.
Travellers from East Kameng, Pakke Kessang, West Kameng and Tawang districts were advised to avoid the route until further notice.
Arunachal Pradesh has been witnessing heavy rainfall over the past several days, resulting in landslides, flash floods and damage to infrastructure across several districts.
Disaster management authorities have urged people living in vulnerable areas and along riverbanks to remain alert and avoid unnecessary travel.