HT Correspondent
AGARTALA, Aug 20: Torrential rains over the past 48 hours in Tripura have led to severe flooding, resulting in the deaths of seven people and leaving two others missing. Around 5,607 individuals have sought refuge in relief camps across the state.
In a press briefing on Tuesday, Brijesh Pandey, Secretary of the Revenue Department, reported that continuous heavy rainfall has caused river levels to rise sharply, leading to widespread flooding in several areas. Particularly heavy rainfall was recorded in Bagafa (375.8mm) and Belonia (324.4mm) in South Tripura District, and Amarpur (307.1mm) in Gomati District over the last 24 hours.
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“South Tripura and Gomati have been severely affected,” Pandey noted. “Four rivers—Howrah, Dhalai, Muhuri, and Khowai—are currently flowing above the danger level as of 4:00 p.m. today.”
Chief Minister Dr. Manik Saha, who has been monitoring the flood situation from New Delhi, is scheduled to hold a review meeting upon his return later this evening.
To address the crisis, the District Administration has established 183 relief camps to shelter the displaced families. Of these, 24 camps are in West Tripura District, 68 in Gomati District, 30 in South Tripura District, and 39 in Khowai District. Additional camps have been set up in other affected districts.
Pandey assured that the District and Sub-Divisional administrations are providing essential services, including food, drinking water, and medical aid, to those in the relief camps. The situation is under close surveillance by the respective District Magistrates at the district level, as well as by the Secretary (RR & DM) and the Chief Secretary at the state level.
“Sub-Divisional Magistrates (SDMs) and officers from various departments—including Rural Development (BDOs), Water Resources, Power, Public Works Department (PWD), Forest, Police, Fire Service, and Paramilitary Forces—are working tirelessly to mitigate the impact of the floods and to carry out relief and rescue operations,” Pandey said. Landslides have been triggered in several areas due to the extreme rainfall, causing road blockages from fallen trees, which are being cleared regularly. Damage to homes and livestock has also been reported, with field assessments currently underway to determine the extent of the losses, after which relief will be provided to affected families.
Tragically, the floods have claimed seven lives—one in Khowai, five in South Tripura, and one in Gomati District—due to landslides and drowning. Additionally, two individuals are missing, one each in Gomati and Khowai Districts.
More than 200 teams comprising the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Civil Defence Volunteers, Aapda Mitra Volunteers, Fire and Emergency Services, Forest, TSECL, PWD (WR), PWD (R&B), Agriculture, and other line departments have been deployed across the affected areas to carry out rescue and relief operations as needed.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast light to moderate rainfall across all districts of Tripura over the next two days due to an active monsoon. A red alert has been issued for South Tripura, while an orange alert has been declared for the rest of the state.
