Thousands stuck as water rises up to 12 feet in Maharashtra’s Chiplun

Thousands were marooned as heavy rains battered Maharashtra again with several parts recording water levels of over 10 feet. Water has started entering the first floor of houses in many places, forcing people to move to their roof tops. Chiplun in Ratnagiri was the worst hit with the entire city being inundated, leaving more than 5,000 people stranded in their houses as roads are under water. Although no casualties have been reported so far in Chiplun, a complete assessment would be possible only after the water recedes.

The situation was so grim in Chiplun that besides the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams, the Coast Guard and the Navy’s help had to be sought for the rescue work.

“A few thousand people are trapped. For now, we have rescued a few hundred people. We have activated 15 rescue boats. Two Air Force helicopters are going to be pressed into service to rescue people from the roof tops. We have also requested the Navy to help out with the rescue work,” Ratnagiri collector BN Patil told ET.