Maharashtra floods: IMD issues orange alert for Gadchiroli, Gondia districts

An orange alert has been issued for the districts Gadchiroli and Gondia by the Regional Meteorological Centre in Mumbai for Monday by predicting a thunderstorm and lightning with heavy to very heavy rain at isolated places.

As the flood situation continues to prevail in Sironcha town of Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district, the lives of people have been badly impacted as the large swathes of land remain inundated in water.

The Regional Meteorological Centre, Mumbai, on Sunday issued an orange alert for the districts Gadchiroli and Gondia on Monday by predicting a very likely thunderstorm and lightning with heavy to very heavy rain at isolated places, while for the other districts of the state the weather forecasting agency issued Yellow alert.

Earlier on Sunday, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel carried out relief work in flood-affected areas in Gadchiroli and distributed various essential items among the people.

According to a report from Maharashtra State Disaster Situation Report Index on Saturday, a total of 102 lives were lost in the rain and flood-related incidents that struck Maharashtra since June 1.

As per the SDMD, the death toll of animals, so far, stood at 189.

Around 11,836 persons were evacuated and 73 relief camps were set up in the state, the July 16 report of Maharashtra SDMD revealed.

Two deaths were recorded in the state in the 24 hours on Saturday, and a total of 68 persons were injured amidst the torrential downpour.

Notably, several districts of Maharashtra have been facing the aftermath of torrential rainfalls, this season, after which the government of Maharashtra has positioned 13 NDRF and three SDRF teams in several districts of the state.

At least 28 districts have been reported affected due to heavy rainfalls in the state including Pune, Satara, Solapur, Nashik, Jalgaon, Ahmednagar, Beed, Latur, Washim, Yavatmal, Dhule, Jalna, Akola, Bhandara, Buldhana, Nagpur, Nandurbar, Mumbai Sub, Palghar, Thane, Nanded, Amravati, Wardha, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Gadchiroli, Sangli, and Chandrapur.