Soldiers in lifeboats ferried people to safety on Friday in Tripura after heavy rain triggered floods and landslides, forcing more than 65,000 people from their homes, authorities said.
Army personnel manned rescue craft as cars and buses were stranded in knee-deep water on the streets. Disaster management officials said that four days of incessant rain had swollen rivers, worsening the situation.
As part of operation ‘Jal Rahat’, two columns from the 18 Assam Rifles, operating under the command of HQ 21 Sector Assam Rifles and IGAR (East), have been deployed across the flood-affected areas of Amarpur, Bhampur, Bishalgarh, and Ramnagar in the state, the Indian army said.
On Friday, CM Manik Saha visited the flood-affected areas of Udaipur, Gomati district, which have been severely damaged due to heavy rains.
The displaced have gathered in 450 camps, the officials said, with a total of about 1.7 million affected, along with extensive damage to infrastructure, crops and livestock.
Most deaths were caused by landslides though some followed the collapse of mud walls and drowning, another disaster management official said on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the media.
The army said more than 80 of its personnel joined in rescue efforts, bringing to safety 334 people stranded by rising floodwaters.
The Gomati River is still flowing at 22.30 meters which is above the extreme danger level of 22 meters. The state administration has shifted all the families living on the bank of the Gomati River in Amarpur, Udaipur, Sonamura and surrounding villages. The state government has requested all citizens to be alert till the water level comes down to normal level.
In Bangladesh, the Gomti broke through an embankment late on Thursday, inundating at least 15 villages and displacing hundreds of families, officials and witnesses said.
More than 75,000 people were taken to over 1,500 shelters in the flood-hit districts, with military and border guards helping in the rescue, authorities said.
(With inputs from agencies)
