Heavy rainfall across Jharkhand wreaked havoc on Thursday, claiming the lives of four people, including two schoolboys and a 10-year-old girl, while another person went missing at a waterfall, officials said.
The relentless downpour caused significant infrastructural damage across several districts.
Incidents of house, bridge, and wall collapses were reported, although no additional casualties were recorded in those cases.
Several rivers were also in spate prompting the state government to activate emergency response teams, including the National Disaster Response Force NDRF for rescue operations.
The bodies of two boys, aged nine and 10, were recovered from under the debris of a collapsed under-construction well in Khunti district on Thursday, more than 22 hours after they had been trapped there.
The incident occurred at Murhu panchayat in Murhu police station limits around 2 pm on Wednesday, when the children were playing near the well that gave way due to heavy rain.
A team from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) was deployed for the operation, Khunti Deputy Commissioner R Ronita told PTI.
The bodies were found around 12.30 pm on Thursday.
In a separate incident, a 10-year-old girl died when her mud house collapsed amid heavy rainfall in Murpa village in Tamar police station area of Ranchi district.
A 40-year-old man was feared dead after falling into a heavy current of water in a Ranchi falls on Thursday, police said. The incident occurred at Jonha falls in Angarha police station limits around 3pm.
The person was identified as Micheal Ghosh, a teacher at a private school in Ranchi city.
In West Singhbhum, a woman was killed and three children were injured after their kutcha house caved-in because of incessant rains that severely disrupted normal life across the state's Kolhan region on Thursday.
According to officials, the house where the woman lived with her kids collapsed due to continuous rainfall through the night.
"The incident took place when their kutcha house collapsed in Kulitotang village under Chakradharpur police station in West Singhbhum district. The woman's body has been recovered and sent for post-mortem examination," a police officer said.
A portion of a bridge over the Banai River in Khunti's Torpa area also collapsed, disrupting traffic on the Khunti-Simdega road.
A portion of the boundary wall of Sonari airport in Jamshedpur collapsed due to incessant rain, officials said.
Rain continues to lash several districts including Ranchi, Seraikela-Kharsawan, and East Singhbhum, affecting normal life.
Schools in affected areas, including Ranchi and Khunti, were closed on Thursday as a precautionary measure.
In Seraikela-Kharsawan, an abandoned residential building owned by Tayo Rolls, a Tata Steel subsidiary, collapsed in Gamharia on Thursday morning.
The building had been vacated earlier and declared unsafe, Tata Steel said in a statement.
In East Singhbhum district, an alert has been sounded in district headquarters Jamshedpur as rivers Kharkhai and Swarnarekha were flowing above the danger mark following incessant rains over the last two days.
"At 6 PM, Subernarekha River at Mango Bridge was flowing at 123.40 metres, while the danger mark is 121.50 metres. The Kharkhai River at Adityapur Bridge measured 133.65 metres against the red mark of 129 metres," a government statement said.
The district administration has warned residents in low-lying areas and catchment zones to remain alert and prepare for evacuation.
Deputy Commissioner Karn Satyarthi visited affected areas and directed officials to take all necessary preventive measures.
"We are using the public address system to warn residents in vulnerable localities like Kadma, Mango, Bagbeda, and Sonari," an official said.
Parts of Jamshedpur experienced severe waterlogging, with reports of flooding in residential apartments in Mango and Sonari.
A section of the boundary wall of the Sonari Aerodrome also collapsed due to the relentless downpour.
In Bagbeda, BJP leader and president of Bagbeda Mahanagar Vikas Samity, Subodh Jha, said: "More than 100 houses have been inundated in Bagbeda Naya Bustee, Sido-Kanho Bustee, and CP Tola." In view of the worsening situation, the administrations of East Singhbhum and Seraikela-Kharswan declared a holiday on Friday for students of classes 1 to 8, while West Singhbhum announced closure for KG to class 12.
In Seraikela-Kharswan, traffic movement on NH 33 near Fadalgora under Chandil Sub-division came to standstill due waterlogging.
Deputy Commissioner (Seraikela-Kharswan) Nitish Kumar Singh inspected the affected areas and asked officials to be alert to meet any eventuality.
Sub-Divisional Officer (Chandil) Vikash Kumar Rai said 10 sluice gates of Chandil dam has been opened to release 2,700 cusecs of water.
A red alert for extremely heavy rainfall has been issued for Ranchi, Lohardaga, Gumla, Khunti, and Simdega districts, according to Ranchi Meteorological Centre Deputy Director Abhishek Anand.
A low-pressure system over northeast Jharkhand is expected to intensify rainfall in the coming hours, he added.