Meghalaya faces 44% excess rain, severe damage to infrastructure and lives

Shillong: Meghalaya received 44 per cent excess rains in the last one month, causing large-scale damage to public infrastructure and upending the lives of people, officials said on Friday.

The state received 117.32 cm of rain between June 1 and July 3, which is 44 per cent more than normal, a senior disaster management official said.

"The southern districts of the state are the worst affected," he said.

"The government is monitoring the situation. The monsoon rains have damaged infrastructure, triggered landslides and flash floods, and fell trees, besides causing other damages," he added.

Chief Secretary DP Wahlang chaired a high-level meeting, reviewing the situation on the ground and the preparations to tackle them, the official said.

"The chief secretary informed the meeting that Rs 13.5 crore has been allocated to handle immediate relief operations," he said.

Most of the roads that were damaged have been restored, and measures were being taken to bring back normalcy, the official said.