The past 2 days in Manipur have seen relentless rainfall that has brought normal life to a standstill, with flash floods, mudslides, and landslides wreaking havoc across the state.

The absence of a proper drainage system has led to flash floods in several valley areas of Manipur. However, the situation took a severe turn with the breaching of major rivers like the Imphal River and Nambul River due to continuous rainfall.

The overflowing water from these rivers not only flooded roads but also entered residential houses, government offices, and quarters. The majority of the valley areas are now submerged underwater.

In the Imphal East district, the Imphal River overflowed near the Lamlong Bridge, impacting areas such as Khurai, Soibam Leikai, and Porompat, leading to extensive flooding. Lamlong Keithel was inundated, and floodwaters were observed flowing over the Lamlong-Pangei road.

Further flooding occurred at Heingang, Hatta Golapati Maning Leikai, and near Kekrupat due to the overflowing Imphal River. This inundation extended to North AOC and surrounding areas, reaching the Khoyathong traffic point.

Several other areas like Sagolband, Kakwa, Thangmeiband, Kwakeithel, and Uripok faced flooding as well. The Irang Bailey Bridge of Imphal-Jiribam highway collapsed at around 4.30 pm yesterday. This has resulted to stranded a large number of trucks heading toward Imphal being stranded.

Landslides and mudslides also occurred along the Imphal-Jiribam highway and Imphal-Dimapur highway, causing further disruptions. In Ukhrul district, landslides along the Imphal-Ukhrul road left many passenger vehicles stranded for hours.

A mudslide at Sinam Village along the Imphal-Jiribam road swept away a truck into a gorge, though fortunately, there have been no reports of casualties so far.

Similar situations are being experienced in many areas of the hill district. In response to the crisis, the government has issued advisories, and schools have been instructed to remain closed until May 31 to ensure the safety of residents amidst the ongoing inclement weather conditions.

After experiencing floods, cyclones, and rain fury owing to cyclone Remal, schools in Manipur will remain closed for safety reasons with immediate effect from Wednesday to Friday.

The Manipur government on Tuesday ordered the closure of all schools – government schools, semi-government schools, and private and central government schools in the state.

The government’s decision comes as all districts are confronting flood-like conditions, ravages of nature’s fury because of the arrival of cyclone Remal which is predicted to remain in the state till May 29.

Laishram Nandakumar, Director of the Education Department (schools), in an order, stated that during the school closure, admission and entrance tests for all schools in the state have been prohibited.

It may be mentioned both the central government-run Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Imphal West and the state government-run Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences (JNIMS) in Imphal East have experienced flooding on the ground floors of their hospital wards.

With these areas submerged, most patients have been shifted to higher floors for continued treatment.

RIMS is the most severely affected facility. The floodwaters have forced the closure of 40% of its services, and stagnant water is causing significant hardship for patients and caregivers.

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