Guwahati: Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) has issued an orange alert for Assam and Meghalaya as it predicted heavy to extreme rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning at isolated places.
As per the official statement from RMC, until May 21, Assam, Meghalaya, and Arunachal Pradesh are under orange alert while Tripura, Manipur, Nagaland, and Mizoram have been placed under a yellow alert.
''Light to moderate rainfall at most places with isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall. Thunderstorm/ Lightning at isolated Places,'' the weather forecasting agency said in its statement on Thursday.
Meanwhile, as of today Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram have been placed under the green section as there will be light to moderate rainfall at most of the places.
However, Arunachal Pradesh too has been put in the Yellow category as the state will witness light to moderate rainfall at several places with isolated heavy rainfall.
''Southwesterly winds during 19-21 May 2022. Under the influence of above system, widespread rainfall accompanied with thunderstorm/lightning and heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places is very likely over Arunachal Pradesh, Assam- Meghalaya, Nagaland-Manipur-Mizoram-Tripura and thunderstorm/lightning and heavy to very heavy rainfall with extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places very likely over Meghalaya on 19 and 21 May 2022,'' the statement read.
The Meteorological Department issues Orange alerts in a bid to make aware people of danger. The Orange Alert is issued by updating the Yellow Alert. If this alert has been issued by the Meteorological department then there is a possibility of severe weather due to cyclones which can cause damage to the road and air transport as well as loss of life and property. That's why people are advised to stay in their homes as there is a strong possibility of dangerous flooding in the affected area.
In the notification of this type of alert, a plan has to be prepared to get people out of the affected area.
As incessant rain continues to wreak havoc in Assam and other parts of the northeastern region, more than 6 lakh people spanning 27 districts in the state have been displaced and their livelihoods have been shattered.
According to a bulletin from the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), the death toll in the state rose to 9 on May 18, with one person getting drowned in the floodwaters in the Darrang district.
Also watch: