This story is from July 23, 2021

Mumbai: Torrential rain, floods kill 8 in state, Ratnagiri’s Chiplun under 6ft water

Mumbai: Torrential rain, floods kill 8 in state, Ratnagiri’s Chiplun under 6ft water
Chiplun
Mumbai: At least eight persons died in rain-related mishaps and two are missing in areas stretching from Palghar to Ratnagiri in 24 hours. Over 700 had to be evacuated in the Konkan belt as incessant rains since Wednesday led to rivers breaching the danger mark.
Multi-agency rescue operations are underway in districts like Raigad, Ratnagiri, Palghar, Thane in the Konkan and in Satara, Sangli Kolhapur in western Maharashtra.

CM Uddhav Thackeray chaired an emergency meeting to review the flood situation in the Konkan districts and directed the administration to be on alert and evacuate people staying near rivers where the water levels are rising. PM Narendra Modi spoke to Thackeray on the phone in the evening and assured assistance with rescue.
So far, NDRF, SDRF, local agencies, navy, coast guard and the air force have been pressed into rescue. As many as 17 teams of NDRF are active, but the state has sought another 5-6 teams. In the last seven days, around 40 people have died and 15 were injured in rain-related incidents in Konkan.
Rainfall rising into triple digits lashed at least 59 locations in Maharashtra till Thursday morning and showers continuedamid reports of landslides, localised flooding and widespread damage to crops. For instance, Nashik district got 935.1mm rainfall, with the three talukas of Igatpuri, Peth and Trimbakeshwar accounting for over 700mm. Several low-lying areas in Nashik city were inundated.
In Palghar, four people died on Thursday. In the first case, Darshana Dhutkar, 50, was wading home in Manor at around 1.30am with her son when she lost balance and was swept away. In Dhumalpada village of Vikramgad, Rama Thakre, 52, was also swept away. In Maswan, Gautam Dhanwa, 18, was electrocuted while walking home and Abhijit Tamore, 21, died during crab fishing with others when their boat capsized in the creek at Dandi in Tarapur.

In adjoining Raigad district, a 50-year-old man fell from the roof of a building in Mahad and died, while a father-daughter duo from Karjat is missing after being swept away by Ulhas waters. Over 400 people were evacuated as water entered houses in Mahad, Khalapur and Karjat. A landslide was reported at Talai village of Mahad taluka late on Thursday, raising fears of casualties. Raigad collector Nidhi Choudhary said a rescue team had not been able to reach till the time of going to press.
Besides Raigad, Ratnagiri was the worst affected. Three persons died in a landslide and over 250 were evacuated after the Vashishti river swelled. The district got 200mm rain in the last 24 hours. The worst-hit were Chiplun and Khed towns, with near 5-6 feet water in parts of Chiplun affecting about 5,000 people, said Ratnagiri collector Dr B N Patil.
Traffic on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway was hit due to flooding in Manor. Landslides blocked traffic between Nashik and Mokhada. Parts of the Mumbai-Goa highway were shut as water was flowing over it.
The Panchaganga river in Kolhapur crossed the warning level of 39feet on Thursday. An alert has been sounded in villages along the banks of the Krishna in Satara and Sangli districts as discharge from the upstream Koyna dam may be increased from Friday. The Almatti dam discharge was increased to help avoid more flooding of the Krishna.
(With inputs from Pune)
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