Heavy Rain, landslides in Goa, IMD issues red alert

GOA: On Wednesday, August 5, heavy rain, and landslides hit the rail and road traffic in many parts of Goa & Karnataka. A red alert was issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) for Goa, Gujarat, Konkan, and Mumbai for yesterday and today. For the fourth consecutive day, incessant rain stuck the coastal state. 

A senior railway officer, in conversation with the Press Trust of India (PTI), said that the rail traffic was hit by a landslide on the Castle Rock (Karnataka) and Vasco da Gama section of the South Western Railway. He added that all passengers travelling by Goa Express to Vasco were stuck at Londa Junction in Karnataka, and the railways had to arrange special buses to bring them to Vasco.

The flood-hit areas were inspected by Manohar Ajgaonkar, Deputy Chief Minister, Goa, along with the Deputy Collector. Following a landslide at Chorla Ghat at the border in the afternoon, the road traffic from Belagavi in Karnataka to Goa was affected. The low-lying areas in remote Sattari and Bicholim have been badly inundated and the residents there waded through knee-deep water to reach higher areas.

The IMD has reported in its long-range forecast for August-September that this year the rainfall is going to be normal during the second part of the four-month monsoon season.