RANCHI: The Meteorological Department has predicted low and moderate flash flood risks over a few watersheds in Jharkhand and other states across the country.
According to the Meteorological Department, Garhwa, Palamu, Latehar, Lohardaga, Gumla, Khunti, Saraikela-Kharsawan, East Singhbhum and Simdega are under flash flood risk in Jharkhand.
Notably, heavy rain has been predicted across the state till September 5. The weather department has issued a ‘red’ alert for very heavy rain in Garhwa, Palamu, Simdega and West Singhbhum districts, and an orange alert for Latehar, Lohardaga, Gumla, Khunti and Saraikela-Kharsawan districts till Wednesday morning.
Meanwhile, heavy rain lashed large parts of the state on Tuesday, with Dumaria in East Singhbhum registering the highest 217 mm of rain since Monday, followed by Dumri in Giridih at 162.2 mm and Mahuadanr in Latehar at 146.2 mm.
Garhwa, Palamu, Chatra and Latehar are expected to receive heavy rain on Wednesday. Similar weather conditions are likely in several parts of the state on Thursday and Friday.
“Heavy to very heavy rain is likely to occur in several districts. The wind speed will be 30 to 40 kmph,” said Deputy Director at the Meteorological Center in Ranchi, Abhishek Anand.
Interestingly, Jharkhand has made a significant recovery from its sluggish start to the southwest monsoon, with the state’s cumulative rainfall deficit narrowing to just 6 per cent by the end of August, keeping it firmly within the meteorological ‘normal’ category.
The state received 747.2 mm of rainfall against the normal 798.8 mm during the June 1-August 31 period, according to the latest data released by the Meteorological Centre, Ranchi.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) considers rainfall between 19 per cent above and 19 per cent below normal to be within the normal range. With the deficit now reduced to 6 per cent, Jharkhand has effectively recovered from the substantial shortfall recorded during the early phase of the monsoon.
The improvement was driven largely by repeated spells of widespread rainfall in August, triggered by successive low-pressure systems developing over the Bay of Bengal and adjoining regions. These weather systems brought substantial rainfall to large parts of the state, helping bridge the deficit accumulated during June and July.
However, rainfall distribution remains uneven, with some districts recording significant surpluses while several northern and north-western districts continue to face substantial shortages.