Flood Situation in Tripura Improves Slightly, Still Critical

GG News Bureau
Agartala, 23rd August. The flood situation in Tripura, which has experienced its worst monsoon deluge in over 30 years, showed slight improvement on Friday. However, large areas, including both urban and rural regions, remain inundated.

Disaster Management officials reported that most rivers in Tripura are still overflowing, with the Gomati River, which flows through Gomati and Sepahijala districts before entering Bangladesh, maintaining a level of 22.30 meters—above the extreme danger mark of 22 meters.

Approximately 65,500 people are sheltering in 450 relief camps across all eight districts. Since the onset of the floods on Monday, about 1.7 million people have been affected. Although rainfall intensity has decreased since Thursday afternoon, extensive flooding persists.

As of Thursday, at least 21 people, including women and children, have died due to landslides and drowning in floodwaters in South Tripura, Gomati, and Khowai districts, with two individuals reported missing.

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha conducted an aerial survey of the affected areas in Udaipur, Amarpur, and Karbook on Friday and visited several relief camps.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who has been in contact with Chief Minister Saha, announced in a post on X that the central government, under Prime Minister Modi’s leadership, has approved an advance release of ₹40 crore from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) to aid the affected population. Shah also highlighted the deployment of 11 NDRF teams, three Army columns, and four Air Force helicopters to support relief and rescue operations, assuring that the central government will stand with Tripura during these challenging times.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasted continued heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places in Tripura over the next five days. The current weather conditions include a low-pressure area over northern West Bengal and adjoining areas of northeast Jharkhand, likely to move westwards, and another cyclonic circulation over north Bay of Bengal.

Due to heavy rains, the Northeast Frontier Railways (NFR) has canceled several local trains in Tripura, citing damage to railway tracks in Gomati and South Tripura districts. Over 1,055 houses have been damaged, and hundreds of trees have been uprooted, blocking major highways. Landslides have occurred in 2,032 locations across the state, with most cleared by Thursday evening. Preliminary estimates indicate that approximately 5,000 hectares of vegetable farms and 120,000 hectares of other crop lands remain submerged.