Heavy rains killed 271 in Maharashtra since April

Mumbai: Heavy rains and hailstorms in Maharashtra have claimed lives of 271 people since April this year, with 377 houses in the state completely damaged and 16,477 houses partially damaged.

The rains also claimed 1,417 small domestic animals and 1,593 large cattle like cows, bulls and buffalos, according to state minister Dileep Kamble.

The figures are compiled for the period from April 1, 2016 till date, which includes deaths due to heavy rains, hailstorm and other natural calamities.

"Aurangabad revenue division comprising eight districts is the worst hit in the current year as 70 people died there resulting from natural calamities. Amravati division is on the second number with 66 people losing their lives to such disasters.

"There are a total of six revenue divisions in the state-- namely Konkan, Pune, Nashik, Aurangabad, Amravati and Nagpur," Kamble said.

In Aurangabad, 208 small and 433 major cattle have died so far, while 31 houses have damaged completely and 4,214 got damaged partially.

The Amravati division reported loss of 25 small and 135 major cattle with 49 houses getting damaged completely and 4,223 houses damaged partially, said an official from state revenue and relief department.

Nashik division, which has reported the third largest human casualty (61 deaths) in the current year, also lost 1,008 small animals while 389 major cattle died due to hailstorm and heavy rains.

As many as 241 houses were completely damaged in Nashik, while 1,363 houses are partially damaged. About 33 people died due to similar causes in Pune division, where 23 small cattle and 572 major cattle have died.

The number of completely and partially damaged houses is 27 and 3,466 respectively.

As many as 31 people have died in Nagpur division from April to October this year where 61 small and 50 major cattle have died. Heavy showers damaged 18 houses completely; while 2,297 of them were destroyed partially.

The least affected division in the state is Konkan, which is known for heavy rainfall during the monsoons. People here are aware of heavy rains and adapted to situations like floods; hence the deaths from the division are less, an official from relief and rehabilitation stated.

The Konkan division has reported deaths of 10 people, while 35 small and 14 large cattle have died so far. The number of completely and partially damaged houses is 11 and 814 respectively, said the official.