ITANAGAR — Fresh flooding triggered by persistent monsoon rain hit several districts of Arunachal Pradesh on Wednesday, while floodwaters continued to inundate parts of neighboring Assam and weather authorities issued a red alert for heavy rainfall in parts of Himachal Pradesh, raising the risk of flash floods and landslides.
According to the Arunachal Pradesh State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC), fresh floods and other rain-related incidents were reported in Siang, Papum Pare, West Kameng, Kamle and Lower Siang districts over the past 24 hours. Officials said nearly 149,000 people have been affected by this year's monsoon across the state, with seven confirmed deaths, 29 injuries and two people reported missing.
The SEOC said floodwaters damaged homes, roads, bridges, power infrastructure, schools and agricultural land across the northeastern state. Upper Siang remained the worst-affected district, followed by East Siang, Siang, Kra Daadi and Upper Subansiri, according to the latest official assessment.
In neighboring Assam, the flood situation also worsened after continued rainfall. The Assam State Disaster Management Authority said more than 560,000 people were affected across 16 districts, with 21 deaths reported during the previous 24 hours. Rescue and relief operations were continuing in several inundated areas as authorities monitored river levels and provided assistance to displaced residents.
Flooding also disrupted transport links in Upper Assam, prompting the Northeast Frontier Railway to operate three pairs of special trains after damage to normal connectivity affected passenger movement.
Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) warned that heavy to very heavy rainfall was likely to continue across parts of northern India. Authorities placed Himachal Pradesh under a red weather alert for intense rainfall, with forecasts highlighting the possibility of flash floods, landslides and disruption to road networks in vulnerable hill districts. Residents were advised to avoid unnecessary travel and follow local emergency advisories.
The IMD said the active southwest monsoon was expected to sustain widespread rainfall over parts of northeast and northern India in the coming days, with isolated areas facing the risk of extremely heavy precipitation.
Disaster management authorities in the affected states said they remained on alert, with emergency teams deployed to vulnerable locations and continuous monitoring of weather conditions and river levels as the monsoon persisted.
