NEW DELHI: As many as 1503 people and 7,842 cattle died, 27,5045 houses were damaged and crops in 20.75 lakh hectares were affected in the country due to heavy rains and floods during the current monsoon season, the Parliament was told.
Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai shared details of the loss caused due to heavy rains and flood in the Lok Sabha while responding to a question on the issue. The period from June to September is referred to as the 'Southwest Monsoon' period which is the principal rainy season in the Indian subcontinent.
Maximum casualties have been reported from West Bengal where 258 people died and 11,925 houses got destroyed.
Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat have suffered huge losses during the monsoon and have lost 190 people each, the minister said. Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat lost 1290 and 897 cattle respectively. While 35389 houses were damaged in MP, Gujarat saw 6612 houses damaged.
Assam, Karnataka, Kerala, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Tripura, and Bihar feature in the list of worst-hit states too.
As many as 141 people lost their lives in Assam which also saw the death of 393 cattle. In all, 56558 houses have also been damaged and crop in 2.65 lakh hectares affected in the state.
Odisha is the most affected in terms of loss to property as the state is left with 84286 damaged houses. The state also saw the death of 40 people 46 cattle.
Karnataka has seen 118 deaths, lost 497 cattle, and has been left with 16,015 damaged houses and crops in 4.50 lakh hectare area. In Kerala, 116 have died and 5,539 houses have been damaged. Naxal-affected Chhatisgarh has been hit by monsoon too. So far, 59 people have died and 834 cattle have been lost and 14,685 houses have been damaged in the state.
Bihar has seen 30 deaths, lost 88 cattle, and has been left with 10,789 damaged houses and crops in 7.54 lakh hectare area. In the small state such as Tripura, as many as 11,621 houses have been damaged due to heavy rains. Two deaths and loss of 4 cattle have been recorded from the state too.
Rai told the Parliament that the measures taken by the central and state governments have significantly improved disaster management practices, preparedness, prevention, and response mechanisms resulting in a significant reduction in casualties during natural calamities. The minister added that strengthening of the disaster management mechanism is a continuing and evolving process of governance.