Floods wreak havoc; 30 dead and 10 missing in Pune division

National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel carry out rescue & relief operations in Sangli district. Pic courtesy/Twitter/ANI

As on Saturday, around 30 people were reported dead and 10 were missing in Pune division as floods continue to batter Maharashtra. According to an update from Divisional Commissioner office in Pune, 30 people died, 10 were reported missing and over four lakh people were evacuated to safer places due to floods in the five districts of Pune division. More than 94 bridges and 200 roads were closed in the division due to flooding and landslides.

Devendra Fadnavis, the Chief Minister visited the flood-affected Sangli and Kolhapur on Saturday, to take stock of the situation. 85 teams of National Disaster Response Force, Territorial Army, State Disaster Response Force, Indian Navy and Indian Army are currently deployed in Kolhapur and Sangli districts for rescue efforts. Also, more than 300 medical teams are working in Kolhapur, Sangli and Satara districts. Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted light to moderate rainfall onwards in Kolhapur, Sangli, Satara, Pune and Solapur districts in Pune division from Monday.

The flood situation in Sangli and Kolhapur districts in western Maharashtra showed signs of improvement as water started to recede from inundated areas, officials said. However, it would take at least two to three days for the water to completely recede from the districts, they said. Although the overall situation has improved slightly, the operation to evacuate the flooded areas and moving stranded people to safer locations and providing relief to them is still on.

"There is an improvement in the overall situation. Water is receding, albeit slowly... Currently the water level in Kolhapur is at 52 feet although the danger level is 47 feet. The highest water level during the current flood was 57 feet," Abhinav Deshmukh, Kolhapur Superintendent of Police, stated. As rains have stopped in the district, the situation is likely improve further, officials said.

In neighboring Sangli district as well, the water level is receding gradually. Till 6 am, it stood at 56.7 feet, the officials said. Deshmukh said considering the current situation, it might take another two to three days for the water to recede from Kolhapur district completely.

With inputs from ANI, PTI

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