In Sangli district of western Maharashtra's Pune Division, the water level in Krishna and Varana rivers was rising due to heavy rains. A team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is reaching soon, said District Collector Abhijeet Chaudhary.
Pune Mayor Mukta Tilak said over 600 families had been shifted from low-lying areas since Sunday to various schools. School and colleges in Pune will remain closed on Tuesday as heavy rainfall was forcing the release of water from dams into rivers in the district, a senior official said.
District Collector Naval Kishore Ram said the situation remained critical, and the decision to extend the holiday for educational institutions was taken for the safety of students.
He said traffic police had shut six bridges over Mula and Mutha rivers here as a precautionary measure.
Floods in Godavari recede
The flood in river Godavari is gradually receding but it may take three more days for normalcy to return in hundreds of marooned villages in East and West Godavari districts of Andhra Pradesh, officials said on Monday.
The second warning has been scaled down to first as inflow at Sir Arthur Cotton Barrage at Dowaleswaram fell to 11.32 lakh cusecs in the evening.
The first warning signal is likely to continue for the next couple of days as over four lakh cusecs of water is being discharged from Pranahita in Telangana.
The situation would ease in the next three days as rains have stopped in the catchment area of Godavari.
Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, who returned from a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, reviewed the situation with top officials, a press release said.
Officials informed the Chief Minister that over 500 tmc ft of floodwater had to be let out into the Bay of Bengal in just about six days.
According to the State Disaster Management Authority, 18 mandals (202 villages) in East Godavari and 22 (218 villages) in West Godavari were affected by the flood.
Transport network in 64 villages has been cut off while eight villages remained submerged in East Godavari.
In West, 43 villages were cut off and eight villages were marooned, the authority said.
The East Godavari district administration opened 85 relief camps for 18,809 flood-hit people, while in West two camps were operated for 133 people.
The Chief Minister directed the ministers concerned to visit the flood-affected areas and ensure prompt distribution of essential supplies to the people.
He asked the medical and health department to take all steps to prevent outbreak of communicable diseases while the animal husbandry department has been asked to open veterinary camps in the villages.
Red alert in three districts of Kerala
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a Red Alert in Idukki, Malappuram and Kozhikode districts on August 8. "These districts are likely to get extremely heavy rainfall of over 240 mm in 24 hours and may experience landslides," an IMD release said.
Many places in Malappuram District are under water with some villages being isolated. A woman died in Malappuram District when a tree uprooted and fell over her house, the District Management Authority said.
Heavy crop damage has been reported from various parts of the district. The Makkootam ghat road in Kannur was also damaged in the heavy rains.
"The traffic on the Makkootam ghat road has been diverted and the vehicles will have to take the Manathavadi road," a revenue official said.
Palakkad District also received heavy rains.
The IMD also declared an Orange alert in various districts from August 6 to 9, includingin Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kasargod, Alapuzha, Idukki, Ernakkulam, Kannur and Thrissur districts.
Flood situation improves in Bihar
There has been a considerable let up in the flood situation in Bihar with no fresh casualty reported for the sixth consecutive day on Monday and many rivers flowing well below the danger level.
According to the state disaster management department, the death toll remained at 130 and the number of people affected by the calamity across 13 districts stood at about 88 lakh.
The state water resources department, quoting a Central Water Commission report, said water levels of rivers like Kosi, Kamala and Bagmati was were significantly lower than the danger mark.
These rivers had been in spate since the torrential rains lashed catchment areas of adjoining Nepal a month ago.
(With inputs from PTI)
