Death toll climbs to 28, red alert issued in six districts of Uttar Pradesh following rains

Nine more people have died as heavy rains lashed Uttar Pradesh for the third day, taking the death toll to 28, while a red alert has been sounded on Tuesday in six districts including the worst-hit Barabanki and Gonda.

A senior official said that in the past 48 hours, more than 100 mm of rainfall was recorded in seven districts of the state and 10 other districts recorded 50 mm of rain. Certain parts of Bahraich and Barabanki have received over 250 mm of rainfall in the past 24 hours.

"Nine deaths were reported in the last 24 hours (from 6 pm on Monday till 6 pm on Tuesday). It included five due to lightning, two from excessive rainfall and one each due to drowning," the Relief Commissioner's office said here.

These deaths included three in Mirzapur, two each in Prayagraj and Sitapur and one each in Sultanpur and Budaun, it said.

On Monday, 19 deaths were reported in rain-related incidents. Four were from Hardoi, three from Barabanki, two each from Pratapgarh and Kannauj, and one each from Amethi, Deoria, Jalaun, Kanpur, Unnao, Sambhal, Rampur and Muzaffarnagar districts.

A red alert has been sounded in six districts- Lakhimpur Kheri, Bahraich, Shrawasti, Sitapur, Barabanki and Gonda, while there is an orange alert in four districts- Hardoi, Basti, Lucknow and Siddharthnagar - for the day, the senior official of the Relief Commissioner's office said.

Heavy rains forced the closure of schools on Monday in some districts. In Gonda and Barabanki, schools remained shut on Tuesday too but reopened in Lucknow with the skies clearing up.

In Barabanki, incessant rains have left some localities submerged with NDRF and SDRF teams evacuating 1,500 people to safety.

People have been evacuated with the help of mini boats and relief material is being distributed, officials said.

On Tuesday, Ayodhya Divisional Commissioner Saurabh Dayal inspected the flood-affected areas of Barabanki.

More than 10 localities in the urban area are submerged in rainwater. At present, 12 boats of NDRF and SDRF are touring the flood-affected areas and carrying out rescue operations, the officials said.

Besides, the district administration is providing clean water and food items to the affected families.

Dayal said that the waterlogging occurred as the heavy rainfall was concentrated over a short period and the water level will decrease in the coming 24 hours.

In Gonda, though the weather was clear in the morning, rains started later in the day. The low-lying areas including district hospital premises have been flooded due to overnight rains.

Officials said that a lightning strike in the Tarabganj tehsil of the district left two buffaloes dead.

The relief commission official said various teams are working round the clock in different areas so as to deal with the problem of water logging.

All embankments in the state are safe and there is no report of any breach from anywhere. The staff of the irrigation department is continuously watching the situation in different parts of the state, the officials said.

No river is flowing above the danger mark anywhere but Sharda at Palia Kalan is flowing just around the danger mark and is on the rising trend, the official said.

The water level of RamGanga river in Moradabad and Son at Bansagar (Mirzapur) was also increasing. The official said that NDRF and SDRF have been deployed in the districts for any eventuality.

Relief works are going on in the districts with the distribution of food packets, foodgrains, tarpaulin sheets and women dignity kits.

Teams of the medical department and animal husbandry department have also been deployed.

"Everything is under control and the district employees are on the job maintaining a vigil," the official said, adding that the state emergency operation centre and a helpline are operational at the Relief Commissioner's office 24 hours.

Districts have already been allocated funds in advance to carry out relief works, the official added.