Three persons lost their lives in Jharkhand amid heavy rain and strong winds that lashed several districts of the state, inundating low-lying areas and uprooting trees and electricity poles, officials said.
A woman died when a mud wall of her house collapsed in West Singhbhum district, as a deep depression over the Bay of Bengal brought torrential rainfall in various parts of the state on Saturday, they said.
Two persons drowned in Ramgarh district and two more went missing when their vehicles fell into the swollen Nalkari river, and were swept away by the strong current, the officials said.
Normal life was thrown out of gear with rain disrupting power supply in many areas for long hours and causing traffic jams in major cities.
Damage to properties due to the downpour along with high-speed winds was reported from Saraikela-Kharswan, East Singhbhum, West Singhbhum and Ranchi, they said.
In the past 24 hours ending at 2 pm on Saturday, Chaibasa town of West Singhbhum recorded the highest rainfall at 191.6 mm, followed by Ramgarh (142.2 mm), Jamshedpur (137.2mm), and Ranchi (54.2 mm).
The water level of several rivers has either reached the danger mark or crossed it in the state's Kolhan region comprising West Singhbhum, Saraikela-Kharsawan, and East Singhbhum districts, the officials said.
"Teams are working for the restoration of power, but work has been hampered due to continuous rain," an official of the East Singhbhum district administration said.
East Singhbhum deputy commissioner Vijaya Jadav said the Kharkhai river is flowing above the danger level, while the Swarnarekha river is in spate.
Several areas were inundated in Chaibasa, while the civil court premises in Saraikela were submerged.
In Jharkhand's capital Ranchi, the downpour accompanied by strong winds uprooted trees and electricity poles in over 25 areas, blocking traffic movement on major roads.
There is, however, "no warning" of heavy to very heavy rainfall on Sunday as the intensity of the weather system will decline, Ranchi meteorological centre in-charge Abhishek Anand said.