Four more killed in northeast floods; 3.64 lakh affected in Assam; 1,500 tourists stranded in Sikkim
More than 3.64 lakh people across 19 districts of Assam have been affected in a wave of floods that disrupted road transport and train services on Sunday (June 1, 2025).
Mild to heavy rainfall continued to batter large swathes of the rest of the northeastern region, with floods and landslides damaging more than 900 houses in Manipur and Mizoram, while 1,500 tourists were left stranded in northern Sikkim.
Four people – two in Assam and one each in Mizoram and Tripura – died on Sunday (June 1, 2025), taking the death toll due to rain-induced floods, flash floods, landslides, rockfalls, and lightning across the northeast to 34, since May 28. Ten of these victims were in Assam, nine in Arunachal Pradesh, six each in Meghalaya and Mizoram, two in Tripura, and one in Nagaland.
On Sunday (June 1, 2025), Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke with the Chief Ministers of Assam, Arunachal, and Sikkim, and the Governor of Manipur to take stock of the situation.
Rising rivers
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said Mr. Shah had offered all possible assistance to deal with the situation. 'I have briefed him on the measures being taken. We are grateful for his concern and support,' he said.
Mr. Sarma warned the people of Assam to be wary of a sharp rise in river water levels due to heavy rainfall at Kibithoo (17 cm), Hayuliang (15 cm), and Kalaktang (10 cm) in Arunachal Pradesh. 'Assam is witnessing intense rain in Silchar (42 cm), Karimganj (35 cm), and Hailakandi (30 cm). People living in low-lying and riverbank areas are advised to stay alert and follow local advisories,' he said.
The submergence of tracks in the Karimganj section of southern Assam's Barak Valley forced the Northeast Frontier Railway to cancel several trains.
Imphal hit hard
The floods in Manipur affected more than 3,800 people and damaged at least 883 houses. The Imphal East district suffered maximum damage, as some major rivers breached embankments, flooding vast swathes of the State's capital and the surrounding localities.
Large-scale damages were also reported from the hilly Kangpokpi district and Senapati beyond.
A delegation of the Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC), led by its president Keisham Meghachandra Singh, visited the flood-affected areas of the Imphal East district. Mr. Singh criticised the Water Resources Department for its failure to implement adequate flood management measures in flood-prone areas across Manipur.
'Several anti-erosion and flood control projects initiated under the Flood Management and Border Area Programme of the Union Ministry of Water Resources remain incomplete,' he said.
Deadly landslides
Mizoram continued to be one of the worst-affected States in the region, with officials recording landslides and landslips from 211 locations. At a review meeting headed by Chief Minister Lalduhoma, officials said 60 houses had collapsed while 69 more were deserted for fear of collapse, and seven power sub-stations suffered extensive damage, while roads were blocked at 83 locations.
In Sikkim's Mangan district, some 1,500 tourists were stranded as roads were blocked following landslides. The district's Superintendent of Police, Sonam Detchu Bhutia, told The Hindu that 1,350 of these tourists have been stuck at Lachung and 115 at Lachen.
'We have had to temporarily suspend the operation to locate the nine people missing after a vehicle fell about 1,000 feet into the Teesta River a few days ago,' he said. The missing passengers were tourists from Odisha and West Bengal.
IAF rescue
The Indian Air Force (IAF) rescued 14 people who were stranded in the middle of the flooded Bomjir River in the Lower Dibang Valley of Arunachal Pradesh. The IAF pressed into service a Mi-17 helicopter following requests from the Arunachal Pradesh and Assam governments.
'The rescued people – 13 from Assam and one from Arunachal Pradesh – were sent back home safely,' a defence spokesperson said.
The floods in Tripura affected over 1,300 families. Chief Minister Manik Saha said the flood-affected people in the West Tripura district were being moved to safer areas, adding that the administration was helping marooned people across the State.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
15 hours ago
- Time of India
Croak-croak: Frogs married off, to woo rain Gods in Chhattisgarh
RAIPUR: An unusual wedding took place in remote village of Surajpur district- not between humans, but two frogs. The ceremony, steeped in centuries-old belief of tribal community, was performed to appease the rain God as monsoon clouds remained elusive over the region. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The male and female frogs were adorned in miniature bridal attire, their union solemnised with rituals identical to a human marriage, complete with dance, a wedding procession, music, and the beating of traditional drums. Villagers from Dhondha and neighbouring hamlets thronged the venue, dancing and singing in celebration with women performing main rituals and singing folk songs. Tribal women can be seen in videos, decked up for wedding rituals and holding frogs in covered copper vessels, singing and dancing. Among the Gond and Oraon tribal communities of Chhattisgarh, such ceremonies are rooted in the belief that marrying frogs can invoke the God of rain, to bless their parched fields. 'When the skies remain dry, we turn to our deities in the ways our ancestors taught us,' said Ramesh Kerketta, a village elder. 'The frog wedding is symbolic, it's nature calling to nature to save us from drought and bring rain.' Dozens of them participated, treating the event with both religious reverence and festive enthusiasm. The croak couple, now bound in a sacred 'pact of rain,' was later released into a nearby pond, a gesture symbolising the union's connection with water. Such rain-invoking rituals are still practiced across rural Chhattisgarh, reflecting a deep intertwining of tribal cosmology, agrarian life, and seasonal rhythms. While meteorologists forecast scattered showers later this week, villagers say the frog wedding has already lifted spirits, and they're hopeful the clouds will now oblige. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Surajpur district has received normal rain this monsoon till now, with 847.4 mm rainfall from June till date, weather department officials stated in a report. Yet there are many patches in such regions that remain parched, just like Dhondha. Speaking to TOI on such tradition, a prominent tribal leader and former Union minister Arvind Netam said, 'Tribal communities have a rain God of their own, whom they call upon through weddings of frogs. It happens in almost all tribal-dominated villages and is part of several traditions directly related to nature.' He said that the rituals are part of life now and the communities continue with a belief that their offerings, prayers were accepted. 'Be it trees, forests, woods, land, river, everything is worshipped by tribals without any interference of any other religion.'
Time of India
a day ago
- Time of India
Char Dham road plan ‘spells disaster': Experts say Dharali flash flood validates warnings; press for slope-stable design
DEHRADUN: Two members of a SC-appointed committee have warned that the Char Dham all-weather road widening project in the Bhagirathi eco-sensitive zone (BESZ), if built as currently planned, will cause disaster in the fragile Himalayan terrain. Their caution, sent in a letter on Tuesday to the Union ministry of road transport and highways, came days after the Aug 5 flood in Dharali village brought down massive debris from glacier-fed streams, washing away homes. Senior geologist Navin Juyal and environmentalist Hemant Dhyani, both members of the scrutiny committee for the Bhagirathi eco-sensitive zone's zonal master plan, had submitted a detailed report about it in Oct 2023 as sought by MoRTH. Flash flood played out almost exactly as experts had predicted The survey mapped the upper Bhagirathi valley's most unstable slopes and proposed an alternate design that they said could keep the road functional without undermining slope stability. Juyal, a former senior scientist at Physical Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad, has since resigned from the high-powered committee overseeing the Char Dham project; Dhyani remains on it. The Aug 5 flood played out almost exactly as they had predicted. At Dharali, one cirque stream burst through, dragging tons of rock and soil into the valley. In Bhatwari, a highway stretch almost sunk - in a zone they had documented as sinking 12mm to 22mm annually. In their latest note, the experts urged adoption of alternate DPR design as given in Oct 2023 report and full enforcement of the Bhagirathi eco-sensitive zone notification. They also backed extending eco-sensitive protections across the higher Himalayan valleys. The Char Dham road widening project in its current form in BESZ will spell disaster otherwise," Dhyani said. Pankaj Singh, head of the ministry's Dehradun office, said work was under way in line with SC directions and the Oct 2023 report. Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area.
Time of India
a day ago
- Time of India
Char Dham project in current form could spell disaster: Experts
DEHRADUN: Two members of an SC-appointed committee have warned the Char Dham all-weather road widening project in the Bhagirathi eco-sensitive zone, if built as currently planned, will cause disaster in the fragile Himalayan terrain. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Their caution, sent in a letter on Tuesday to Union ministry of road transport and highways, came days after the Aug 5 flood in Dharali brought down massive debris from glacier-fed streams, washing away homes. Senior geologist Navin Juyal and environmentalist Hemant Dhyani, both members of the scrutiny committee for the Bhagirathi eco-sensitive zone's zonal master plan, had submitted a detailed report in Oct 2023 as sought by MoRTH. That survey mapped the upper Bhagirathi valley's most unstable slopes and proposed an alternate design that they said could keep the road functional without undermining slope stability. Juyal, a former senior scientist at Physical Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad, has since resigned from the high-powered committee overseeing the Char Dham project; Dhyani remains on it. The Aug 5 flood played out almost exactly as they had predicted. At Dharali, one cirque stream burst through, dragging tons of rock and soil into the valley. In Bhatwari, a highway stretch almost sunk - in a zone they had documented as sinking 12mm to 22mm annually. In their latest note, the experts urged adoption of alternate DPR design as given in Oct 2023 report and full enforcement of the Bhagirathi eco-sensitive zone notification. They also backed extending eco-sensitive protections across the higher Himalayan valleys. "The Char Dham road widening project in its current form in BESZ will spell disaster otherwise," Dhyani said. Pankaj Singh, head of the ministry's Dehradun office, said work was under way in line with SC directions and the Oct 2023 report.
