Extremely heavy rain forecast in Satara; many missing after landslides

Two persons died in landslide in Devrookhwadi in Wai tehsil on Thursday and 27 people were rescued. Two persons were still missing.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Friday evening issued a fresh 'red alert' for Satara, forecasting ''extremely heavy rainfall'' in the next 24 hours in the hilly `ghat' areas of this Western Maharashtra district where some 30 persons are missing after landslides.

The Met department also issued `orange alert' for Pune and Kolhapur districts.

The region is being battered by incessant rains for the last two days.

Extremely heavy rainfall was likely to occur at isolated places in the ghat sections of the Satara district, the IMD said.

Issuing orange alert for Pune and Kolhapur, the IMD said ''heavy to very heavy rainfall'' is likely in isolated places in the ghat areas of the two districts.

At least six people have died due to rain-related accidents such as landslide and drowning in Satara district so far and around 30 people are missing after landslides at Ambeghar, Mirgaon and Dhikawale villages in Patan tehsil, said Shekhar Singh, district collector.

Sixteen people were missing after the landslide hit houses in Ambeghar and 12 were missing at Mirgaon, he said.

The district administration evacuated around 150 people from Mirgaon, 50 from Ambeghar and 50 from Dhokawale.

About ten people, injured in the landslides in Ambeghar and Mirgaon, were taken to the nearby primary health centres and were said to be safe.

Rescue operation is going on at both the places in the face of continuous rainfall and flooding, the collector added. ''There are so far six casualties, four due to the landslide incidents and two due to drowning,'' Singh said. Two persons died in landslide in Devrookhwadi in Wai tehsil on Thursday and 27 people were rescued. Two persons were still missing.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)