Six persons were killed and at least 23 missing after Tiware dam on a rivulet in Chiplun of Ratnagiri district in Maharashtra breached late on Tuesday. According to police, the dam, which had started overflowing around 8 pm following heavy rain, reportedly breached soon after.
As the water gushed out in a flood-like situation, at least seven villages downstream were inundated, a dozen homes washed away and around two dozen people have been reported missing.
So far, the police have recovered six bodies from the water and a search is on for more people reported missing.
The Ratnagiri police have put out heavy to very heavy rainfall alert till July 4 (Thursday), urging people on coastal areas as well as fishermen to not venture into the sea.
Teams of the fire brigade and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) from Pune and Sindhudurg, besides volunteers from nearby areas, have launched rescue operations on war footing. Top civic and police officials have rushed to the disaster spot.
A small dam called Tiware in #Ratnagiri distt has breached causing flood like situation in 7 downstream villages. 12 houses in the hamlet have been washed away. About 23 people are missing. Six dead bodies recovered by civil administration and locals so far. @mid_day @NDRFHQ pic.twitter.com/uQczW31I8B
— Diwakar Sharma (@DiwakarSharmaa) July 3, 2019
The dam was built in 2000 and residents in the area claim they had informed the district authorities of its leakage two years back but no repairs were carried out.
#Tiware dam in #Ratnagiri district has breached killing many people. Preliminary maps show the dam along with the section where it would have probably breached (in red) and the area affected by the floods afterwards (in blue).
— Raj Bhagat Palanichamy (@rajbhagatt) July 3, 2019
Compiled based on ground reports. pic.twitter.com/fSP7bXXkM0
Large parts of Maharashtra have been battered with heavy rain in the past five days, and on Tuesday at least 39 people were killed in rain-related incidents across the state.
The country’s commercial capital, Mumbai has received over 375 mm rain, that is, around 35 percent of its average annual total rainfall, which is the highestJuly rainfall within a 24-hour period since 1974.
Several parts of the city and its suburbs, as well as towns in adjoining Raigad, Thane and Palghar districts, saw people wading through waist-deep water. Many vehicles were submerged, and tempos, trucks and heavy vehicles, too, were stranded on the roads, adding to the traffic congstion.
Thousands were also stranded as several local and long-distance train, flight and bus services were also hit.
The India Meteorological Department predicted extremely heavy to very heavy rains in Mumbai, many parts of coastal Konkan, besides Vidarbha and Marathwada till Friday.