Fresh floods, landslides batter five Arunachal districts; over 1 lakh affected, IMD issues heavy rain alert

Fresh floods and landslides triggered by incessant rainfall have hit five districts of Arunachal Pradesh, damaging houses, roads, bridges and irrigation infrastructure, even as the flood situation across the state remains critical with more than one lakh people affected.

According to the Arunachal Pradesh State Disaster Management Department's daily situation report issued on Thursday evening, July 16, fresh incidents were reported from East Kameng, Upper Subansiri, Upper Siang, Kamle and Kra Daadi districts during the last 24 hours.

The affected areas include Seppa and Bameng circles in East Kameng, Daporijo in Upper Subansiri, Mariyang, Migging and Tuting in Upper Siang, Gepen, Puchigeko and Raga in Kamle, and Tali circle in Kra Daadi district.

Officials said 640 people in East Kameng and 53 people in Kamle were affected by the fresh floods and landslides over the past 24 hours.

The latest damage includes roads and drainage systems in East Kameng, 13 minor irrigation projects and channels along with a flood protection wall in Upper Siang, three bridges in Kamle, and a bridge and two retaining walls in Kra Daadi.

The disaster management department said the ongoing spell of rain-triggered floods and landslides has so far claimed seven lives, injured 29 people and affected 1,03,860 people across the state.

Upper Siang remains the worst-affected district with 49,259 people impacted, followed by Siang (25,365), Kra Daadi (13,731), East Kameng (6,786), Upper Subansiri (3,467), Namsai (2,657) and Anjaw (1,011).

Official figures show that 804 houses, including 614 kutcha and 120 pucca houses, have been damaged. Floods and landslides have also caused extensive damage to roads, bridges, power infrastructure, schools, hospitals, government buildings, water supply schemes and flood protection structures.

The cumulative damage to agriculture and horticulture has risen to 603.75 hectares, comprising 240 hectares of agricultural land and 363.75 hectares of horticulture plantations.

Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast continued rainfall across Arunachal Pradesh over the next three days.

An orange alert has been issued for Papum Pare, Tirap and Changlang districts on Friday, warning of thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and heavy rainfall. On Saturday, the warning has been extended to Longding, East Siang, Lower Subansiri, Papum Pare, Tirap and Changlang, while Lohit and Papum Pare are likely to receive very heavy rainfall.

The IMD has advised district authorities and residents to remain vigilant, warning that heavy rainfall could trigger landslides, flash floods, waterlogging and disruptions to road connectivity, particularly in vulnerable areas. Weather conditions are expected to gradually improve from Sunday, with most districts likely to remain under a yellow alert or no warning by Monday.