Kolkata: A girl was swept away by water current in west Bengal’s Murshidabad district, while a woman died in a house collapse in Howrah as the flood toll shot up to 47 yesterday due to heavy overnight rains across the state.
The rains triggered by the cyclone Komen crippled normal life in Kolkata, hitting the train services.
In Murshidabad’s Andulia, a girl was carried away by a strong current and in Howrah’s Panchla, rains triggered the collapse of a mud house leading to the death of a woman. In Nadia, four deaths were reported while West Midnapore saw two fatalities.
Nearly two lakh houses were damaged and over a lakh residents living in relief camps, Banerjee said yesterday.
“As many as 1.8 lakh houses have been damaged and 12 districts are affected due to the flood-like situation.
Crops spread over 2.10 lakh hectares of farmland were destroyed in the rain-hit districts, she added.
Stretches in Burdwan, Birbhum, Hooghly, North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas districts are still submerged, and seven lakh people affected.
In Ghatal in West Midnapore, boats were pressed into service.
Several parts of Kolkata were waterlogged. The Met Office recorded 117.4 mm of rainfall till 8.30am yesterday.
It has forecast “heavy to very heavy rainfall” in a few places in Gangetic West Bengal (south Bengal) in the next 24 to 48 hours.
IANS
