By Express News Service

GUWAHATI/IMPHAL/AGARTALA/AIZAWL: Flash floods, landslides wreak havoc in Manipur, MizoramGuwahati: Flash floods and landslides triggered by torrential rains have wreaked havoc in parts of the north-east, particularly Manipur and Mizoram.

The situation is worse in Manipur. The entire Imphal Valley, which includes 40 of the state's 60 Assembly constituencies, is under floodwaters, resulting in large-scale displacement of people.

Chief Minister N Biren Singh told The New Indian Express that the Imphal Valley, as well as the hill districts, was in the grip of flash floods and landslides.

"The situation is critical. Almost the entire Imphal Valley resembles a sea. Some hill districts have been also badly affected by landslides. We are trying to rescue people and give relief to them. We are assessing the situation," he said.

Singh also said that a national highway, which connects Manipur with southern Assam's Barak Valley, had been cut off following landslides. The All India Radio station is submerged, resulting in suspension of its services, Singh added.

In the wake of the floods, power supply has been also affected. Educational institutes and government offices were closed in the valley on Wednesday. According to official sources, a number of river embankments caved in at various places as several rivers were in spate, flowing above the danger level.

In Mizoram, hundreds of families have been affected by flash floods and landslides in four districts, including Aizawl. As landslides blocked roads in more than 40 places, disrupting traffic, the state government declared a two-day holiday.

Mizoram Minister Lalthanzara told The New Indian Express that the road to Lengpui Airport, which remained blocked due to mudslides, was cleared on Tuesday evening.

"The people are suffering a lot as the landslides occurred in more than 40 places in four districts. Around 80 per cent of the blockage has been cleared," he said.

Parts of Assam are also in the grip of floods. The flooded Difolu river submerged National Highway 37 for a few hundred metres in Golaghat district, affecting vehicular traffic. Kaziranga National Park was also partially inundated. In Barak Valley, the floods inundated several villages in Karimganj and Hailakandi districts.

In Assam, as many as 1,48,912 people have been affected in 222 villages under eight revenue circles in the districts of Biswanath, Karbi Anglong West and Karbi Anglong East, Golaghat, Karimganj and Hailakandi, according to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) report issued today.

Karimganj in the Barak Valley remained the worst-hit with the breaching of the Longai river at Nayadhar area.

The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) has so far evacuated 124 people in the district.

The authorites have opened 71 relief camps with Karimganj having the highest of 54, followed by Hailakandi 16 and Golaghat one.

In total, 10,710 people have taken shelter in relief camps with Karimganj having the highest at 10,100.

The flood situation in the other districts of the state is also being closely monitored, the officials said.

In Tripura, over 3,500 families have been rendered homeless.

A man rows a boat carring villagers from the flood affected area near Badurpur in Karimganj district of Assam on June 13 2018. (PTI Photo)

Though rain stopped this morning, over 500 families have been evacuated to six relief camps in West Tripura's Sadar sub-division as their homes were submerged.

The water level in Howrah river, which passes through Agartala, was flowing slightly below the danger level at 12 pm, Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Sadar Tapan Kumar Das said.

The Assam-Agartala National Highway, considered to be the lifeline of the state, was opened for vehicular movement after debris were cleared late last night.

The road remained cut off for several hours due to land slips at Atharamura hill yesterday.

According to the latest report of the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC), over 3,500 families are lodged in 89 relief camps as heavy downpour inundated their houses in some sub-divisions.

In Mizoram, hundreds of people were displaced due to the floods, mudslides and landslides even as waters receded, state disaster management and rehabilitation department officials said.

The situation improved after the rain stopped from Tuesday midnight.

Thousands of people were evacuated to safer places as many houses were submerged as the river Khawthlangtuipui in south Mizoram's Lunglei district and Tlawng river in Aizawl district swelled due to extremely heavy monsoon downpours since Sunday night.

While no loss of lives was reported, over 10 people were injured in the mudslides and landslides which also destroyed over 30 houses across the state.

Many places, including Lunglei district, remained cut off from the rest of state due to the landslides which was triggered by heavy rain.

The state government has ordered two-day holiday for educational institutions due to the inclement weather.

Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh inspects the water level and flood situation in the areas near new Sanjenthong bridge in Imphal, June 13 2018. (PTI Photo)

Police and other government employees have been alerted for any eventuality.

In Manipur, several low-lying areas in Imphal East, Imphal West, Thoubal and Bishenpur districts have been inundated, officials said.

The General Administration Department had declared a holiday today for all government offices and educational institutions due to the inclement weather conditions.

All schools in the Imphal Valley, barring Jiribam district, will remain closed tomorrow as well.

Though the rain stopped in the morning, the MeT department has predicted more showers till June 15.

In Thoubal district, at least a hundred houses have been flooded by the overflowing Thoubal river, forcing residents to take shelter in relief camps.

The Imphal river at Minuthong in the state capital is flowing at the "highest flood level".

The Irilbung and Lilong rivers are also flowing at the danger level, officials said.

(With inputs from PTI)