Northeast to witness heavy rainfall for the next five days, said the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Monday.

Under the influence of strong south-westerly winds from the Bay of Bengal to the Northeast at lower tropospheric levels, fairly widespread/widespread rainfall, accompanied by thunderstorm/lightning/gusty winds, are very likely over Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, sub-Himalayan West Bengal, and Sikkim during next five days.

According to IMD, isolated heavy rainfall is likely over Assam and Meghalaya during the next five days.

“Thundersquall (wind speed reaching 50-60 kmph) and hailstorm at isolated places are also very likely over Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, sub-Himalayan West Bengal, and Sikkim on Tuesday,” it added.

All the eight states in the Northeast have been witnessing heavy rainfall for the last few days.

Isolated to scattered rainfall thunderstorm/lightning/gusty winds is very likely over Bihar, Jharkhand, Gangetic West Bengal, and Odisha during the next 5 days, the IMD added.

Moreover, at least 20 people killed in several incidents of severe storms and lightning strikes throughout Assam since late last month, said an official record.

As per the data shared by Chief Executive Officer of Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) GD Tripathi, 22 districts have reported storm and lightning incidents in 80 Revenue Circles in the last three days spanning over 1,410 villages impacting 95,239 people.

"Total of 20 deaths have been reported during this season due to storms and lightning, of which 19 deaths were reported in April (till April 17) and one in the last week of March,” Tripathy said.

Notably, an ex-gratia payment to the next of kin of deceased persons has been initiated and it will be completed soon.

Reportedly, 3,011 houses are fully damaged in Assam (Katcha= 2,974; Pacca=37) and 19,256 houses (Katcha=17,713; Pacca=1,543) have been partially damaged till April 16, the ASDMA report stated.

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