Aizawl: At least ten people lost their lives and several others reported missing on June 13 after flash floods washed away a number of houses in southern Mizoram.

The Met department has said the southwest monsoon, which entered northeastern India a day earlier was already vigorous over Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura. It is active over Assam and Meghalaya and normal over Arunachal Pradesh.

The flash floods in Mizoram occurred in Tlabung, a village in Lungeli district bordering Bangladesh.

The monsoon hit Mizoram after the depression in the Bay of Bengal entered the northeastern region causing incessant rains and flash floods at several places in the hilly state, officials said.

“At least 350 houses have been damaged in Tlabung by the flash floods and landslides, with local authorities confirming the death of ten persons so far. The number of casualties is likely to increase,” an official from Aizawl, the state capital, told The Indian Express.

In Aizawl city too, heavy rainfall triggered landslides in at least six localities, prompting the authorities to evacuate several families to safer places. Roads and houses have been damaged in these localities.

Flash floods also damaged at least 15 houses at Sairang, about 40 km from Aizawl, with the district authorities evacuating 60 families to safer places, the official said.

The city had recorded an average of about 70 mm rain till June 13 afternoon. Kamrup (Metro) deputy commissioner M Angamuthu said that several incidents of landslides were reported from Kamakhya, Chanmari, Nizarapar, Hengerabari and Maligaon and other localities. There was, however, no report of any loss of life, he said.

While most roads including the busiest GS road, RG Barua road and Maniram Dewan road remained under knee-deep water, vehicular traffic including movement of city buses was severely affected. Thousands of school children were stranded either in their schools or in school buses stuck in traffic jams due to the inundation.