At least 8 people were killed in a series of landslides triggered by heavy rainfall in Arunachal Pradesh on Friday. Out of the deceased people, the four members of the family including an 8-month-old baby were buried alive at Papum Pare’s Tigdo village. Four people were buried in the other incident of mudslides at Modirijo Village located between Itanagar and Naharlagun.
The state government has announced an ex-gratia of Rs. 4 lakh for the next of the kin of victims. CM Pema Khandu expressed his grief on microblogging site Twitter on Friday morning, “Saddened by a tragedy that struck Tigdo village in Papumpare district this morning where four members of a family perished in a landslide. May the deceased rest in eternal peace. My sincere condolences to the bereaved families. Ex-gratia relief being expedited to the next of kin.”
“Death toll due to landslides has risen to 8 in a single day. @DCitanagar is shifting all persons from vulnerable areas to nearest relief camps”, he tweeted in the evening sharing the contact details of Regional Response Centre and SDRF teams to get quick help during an emergency. He further tweeted to urge people to take preventive measures, “I request every one to take all precautionary measures & to refrain from staying at vulnerable locations.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also conveyed his condolences to the kin of the deceased people while assuring the full assistance to the needy. “Saddened by the loss of lives due to heavy rains as well as landslides in Arunachal Pradesh. My thoughts are with the bereaved families. May the injured recover quickly. All possible assistance is being provided to those affected,” the PM tweeted.
A warning signal and a red alert were issued by the Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC), Guwahati. According to a release by the center on Thursday, “Isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall with extremely heavy falls (>20cm) likely over Arunachal Pradesh and Assam & Meghalaya during 09 to 11 July 2020.”