Seven members from two families die in landslides during Tripura floods caused by heavy rain.

The death toll from the recent rains and floods in Tripura has reached 20, with officials reporting the deaths of at least seven more people from two families. This includes the fatalities of three women and a child in landslides. The state is facing its most severe monsoon flooding in over 30 years. Disaster Management officials stated that seven members of two families in Santirbazar, South Tripura district, lost their lives when their houses collapsed due to a massive landslide triggered by continuous rain late on Wednesday night.

The Disaster Management Response Force, along with local residents, recovered all the bodies on Thursday. The Chief Minister, Manik Saha, expressed shock at the incident, announcing that the state government would provide Rs 4 lakh as financial assistance to each affected family. Before this latest tragedy, 13 deaths, including that of a 12-year-old girl and a woman, were reported from South Tripura, Gomati, and Khowai districts since Monday, with two people still missing. Approximately 65,500 individuals are taking shelter in 450 relief camps across all eight districts, with 17 lakh people affected by the devastating floods.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) recorded 233 mm of rainfall in Agartala from 8.30 a.m. on Wednesday to 8.30 a.m. on Thursday. According to the IMD, all eight districts in Tripura received some of the highest levels of rainfall in the last 24 hours on Thursday, with South Tripura district’s Bogafa, under the Santirbazar sub-division, registering 493.6 mm of rainfall. An IMD official mentioned that while a ‘heavy’ to ‘very heavy’ rainfall alert remains in place and a ‘Red alert’ has been issued for all eight districts, the intensity of rain is expected to decrease from Thursday night.