Tree Falls on School Bus Amid Incessant Rain; All Children Evacuated Safely

Ranchi: Incessant rain battered parts of Jharkhand on Friday, uprooting trees and electricity poles, disrupting traffic and power supply, while a group of schoolchildren miraculously escaped unscathed after a tree came crashing down on their bus in Ranchi.

Waterlogged Capital Paralyzed as Incessant Showers Halt Flights and Traffic

The rain-drenched roads of the state capital wore a deserted look with very few vehicles plying. At least five flights were cancelled till 2 pm at the Birsa Munda Airport due to the inclement weather.

Jharkhand has been receiving light to moderate rainfall since September 23 under the influence of a deep depression, with the intensity increasing on Friday.

While several schools in Ranchi declared a holiday in view of the heavy rainfall, a large tree fell on a school bus in the state capital’s A G More area in the morning, but none of the students was injured, an official said.

Doranda Police Station in-charge Digvijay Singh said the tree fell on the bus while the students were on their way to school. “No one was hurt in the incident. The students were rescued safely,” he said.

At least five flights have been cancelled until 2 pm at Ranchi’s Birsa Munda Airport, an airport official said.

Several parts of the city also witnessed prolonged power cuts after trees and electricity poles were uprooted.

“Power supply has been disrupted in some areas due to trees falling on power lines, poles breaking or collapsing, and other faults caused by continuous rain and strong winds. Teams are working at all locations to restore power supply,” another official said.

Abhishek Anand, the deputy director at the meteorological centre here, told PTI that parts of Jharkhand have been experiencing heavy rainfall coupled with strong winds since Thursday night, as the deep depression system rolled towards Chhattisgarh.

“Rain intensity is likely to reduce by Saturday. Improvement in the weather is expected from September 27,” he said.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert for very heavy rainfall in Lohardaga, Latehar, Gumla and Simdega until 8:30 am on Saturday, while a yellow alert for heavy rainfall has been issued for 14 districts for the same period.

The IMD also issued a flash flood alert for East Singhbhum, Seraikela-Kharsawan and West Singhbhum districts.

The Kharkai river was flowing above the danger level, while the Subarnarekha swelled as Jamshedpur recorded 56.6 mm of rainfall from 8:30 am on Thursday to 11:30 am on Friday.

According to official data, the Kharkhai river was flowing at 129.860 meters against the danger mark of 129 meters at 12 pm at the Kharkai Bridge linking East Singhbhum and Seraikela-Kharsawan districts.

The water level at the Subarnarekha river was at 120.54 meters at the Mango Bridge site at 10 am against the red mark of 121.50 meters, an official said.

With widespread rainfall across the state, the rain deficit has come down to 3 per cent on Friday in Jharkhand.

The state has received 962.6 mm of rain from June 1 to September 25 against a normal of 992 mm. However, eight districts are still facing deficit rainfall, with Pakur at the top at 51 per cent, followed by Chatra at 36 per cent and Sahibganj at 33 per cent.

IMD considers a deviation of 19 per cent rainfall as normal.

Eight districts have registered a surplus rainfall, with West Singhbhum recording the highest at 47 per cent, Seraikela-Kharsawan at 21 per cent and Ranchi at 15 per cent.

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