Maharashtra floods: 129 dead in rain-related incidents in last 48 hours; heavy downpour hampers rescue operations

As many as 129 people have died in rain-related incidents, including landslides, in Maharashtra in the last 48 hours, a senior official from the state disaster management department said on Friday evening.

The toll included 38 deaths in a landslide in a village in the coastal Raigad district’s Mahad tehsil on Thursday, according to PTI. On Thursday evening, several people were killed in a landslide near a village in the coastal Raigad district of Maharashtra.

“The toll in Maharashtra in the last 48 hours has reached 129. Most of the deaths are from Raigad and Satara districts,” the official said.

Besides landslides, several people were swept away by floodwaters. The official put the toll in various incidents in Western Maharashtra’s Satara district at 27. Other fatalities included those reported from eastern districts such as Gondia and Chandrapur, he said.

The incident occurred near Talai village in Mahad tehsil on Thursday evening, they said. For the last few days, the Konkan region was pounded by rains, a senior official said. “Thirty-six bodies have been recovered from the landslide spot so far,” a senior police official said, “Locals say more people are feared trapped.”

NDRF teams are conducting search and rescue operations, along with personnel of the local disaster management cell, police and district administration, he said. A team of NDRF had reached Mahad, around 160 km from Mumbai, the official said.

The Indian Air Force’s Mi-17 helicopters rescued two persons stranded in inundated areas of coastal Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra on Friday, said a defense release.

The Air Force has kept its two Mi-17V5 and two Mi-17 helicopters on stand-by for rescue operations in the region which has been battered by heavy rains, it said.

#IAF flood relief operations during #MaharashtraFloods. Two personnel rescued by a Mi-17 helicopter at #Ratnagiri.
An @NDRFHQ team was also flown from #Mumbai to Ratnagiri today.

Two Mi-17V5s & two Mi-17s standby for flood relief ops.@IAF_MCC
Details: https://t.co/cqoduAo1dl pic.twitter.com/9ghS6OOiCS

— PRO Defence Mumbai (@DefPROMumbai) July 23, 2021

Raigad district collector Nidhi Choudhary said the landslide incident was reported late Thursday evening. “But since the roads leading to the spot were blocked due to the floods and the sludge, the rescue teams found it difficult to reach the site. While local police have rescued two persons so far, reaching the village from outside is very difficult due to the floods,” she said. “The operation resumed today morning and the bodies were recovered by afternoon.”

According to officials, there are around 30 houses in Talai village, which were completely damaged due to the incident.

The toll in the incident near Talai village in Mahad tehsil is likely to rise, police said, as many areas of Maharashtra have continued to face rain fury since the past few days. The village is located in Mahad tehsil of the district, but as the Savitri river is flowing at its danger level, the road connection with the village has been cut off.

In another incident, 11 people on board a bus had a narrow escape as they were rescued just before the vehicle got washed away into a river in Kolhapur district of Maharashtra early on Friday, police said.

The Maharashtra government on Friday announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh each to the kin of those who died in landslides.

A statement from the Chief Minister’s Office said, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, who announced the financial assistance, also expressed grief over the loss of lives.

The statement said landslides have been reported in ten places - Poladpur (two incidents) and Mahad talukas of Raigad district, one each in Khed in Ratnagiri district, Mirgaon, Ambeghar, Humbhrali, Dhokwale villages in Patan taluka and Kondvali, Mojhejor villages in Wai taluka of Satara district.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the loss of lives in a landslide in Maharashtra’s coastal Raigad district and announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh for the kin of the deceased.

Anguished by the loss of lives due to a landslide in Raigad, Maharashtra. My condolences to the bereaved families. I wish the injured a speedy recovery.

The situation in Maharashtra due to heavy rains is being closely monitored and assistance is being provided to the affected.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 23, 2021

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also expressed his condolences and appealed to Congress workers in the region to assist in rescue and relief operations.

My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families.
I appeal to Congress workers to assist in relief and rescue work.

Rains continue to cause disaster and disruptions in many parts of Maharashtra. Please stay safe. pic.twitter.com/0su6PjwkiM

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) July 23, 2021

Two landslides in rain-hit Satara district

At least 20 people are feared trapped in landslides in two locations in the Patan tehsil of Western Maharashtra’s Satara district which has been battered by rain, police said on Friday.

Landslides took place at Ambeghar and Mirgaon villages during the night, burying a total of eight houses, said Ajay Kumar Bansal, Superintendent of Police, Satara rural. These landslides followed the major landslide in the coastal Raigad district on Thursday evening.

“At Ambeghar, 13 or 14 people in four houses are feared trapped, while at Mirgaon, three houses were affected with 8 to 10 people inside,” Bansal said, adding that rescue work is underway and that some people have been rescued.

Due to incessant rains, the roads leading to the two villages are either blocked or inundated, making it difficult to bring heavy machines for rescue work, the SP said.

10 feared trapped in a landslide in Ratnagiri district

At least 10 persons are feared trapped in a landslide in Maharashtra’s Ratnagiri district, a senior official said on Friday. The rescue team has reached the spot. The local residents who rushed to safety, alerted the police about it, the official said. However, details about the incident, including its exact location and time, are yet to be known.

The official said that establishing contact has become difficult due to the poor mobile network and it is posing hurdles in reaching out to the affected people and responding to their SOS calls.

In a separate incident, the body of a man was recovered in Chiplun city after the floodwater receded to some extent, he said. The official said that the process to identify the body that was found in Chiplun was on.

Maharashtra minister Uday Samant, who reached Chiplun late Thursday night, said, “Water has receded from several parts of Chiplun city now. But it is true that the water level was very high and it had crossed the 2005 deluge mark.” The damage assessment work will commence by Friday evening. The clearing of roads, removal of mud and sludge from the streets is the priority now. Several teams of the state electricity distribution company are also on the way to restore electricity in the region, he said.

Parts of Ratnagiri district have been reeling under floods caused due to heavy rains over the last few days, with major rivers in the district flowing above the danger mark.

Heavy rains are not over yet

As heavy rains batter several parts of the west and south India, the meteorological department on Friday said isolated extremely heavy falls are very likely over Konkan, Goa and central Maharashtra in the next two days.

Scattered to fairly widespread rainfall with isolated heavy falls are likely to continue over Gujarat till 23 July, but its intensity will increase from 24 July, it said.

“Fairly widespread to widespread rainfall with isolated heavy to very heavy falls very likely to continue over west coast during next 2-3 days with reduction thereafter,” the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

“Isolated extremely heavy falls also very likely over Konkan, Goa, the adjoining ghat areas of central Maharashtra during 23-24 July with reduction thereafter and over coastal and south interior Karnataka, (from) today, 23 July,” it said.