Heavy rain and storms have disrupted the normal life in Assam leaving one student dead and 12 injured.
The student died after a tree fell on the auto-rickshaw in which he was travelling at Dighalbori in Morigaon district.
In a separate incident, 12 children were injured after a tree fell on their school bus in Sonitpur district.
Trees were uprooted in several places across the state, including Guwahati, because of the strong winds. Power supply was disrupted in lower Assam as electric poles fell, and water-logging was reported from different towns, officials said.
Schools have been shut in the affected districts, they said. Because of the weather, ferry services were also stopped in Guwahati, Jorhat, Tezpur, Morigaon, Dhubri, Goalpara, South Salmara, Barpeta, Cachar and Karimganj districts.
The Assam State Disaster Management Authority has asked people to avoid staying in vulnerable structures, avoid going to water-logged areas, stock up on essential items and contact authorities in case of an emergency.
Amid the storms and relentless rain, teams from the State Disaster Response Force, along with police and forest department officials, have been involved in the relief and rescue operation.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has urged the citizens not to venture out unless there is an emergency. “Heavy storms are lashing parts of the State and is expected to continue. I’ve instructed officials to be alert to respond to exigencies at the earliest,” Himanta Sarma posted on X – earlier known as Twitter.
Several districts of Assam have been on high alert in the wake of forecast for heavy to extremely heavy rainfall in the aftermath of Cyclone Remal, which made landfall in neighbouring West Bengal on Sunday.