Rain lashes Jharkhand, heavy rain alert issued for 16 districts

Ranchi: Rain lashed parts of Jharkhand on Monday morning amid an alert of heavy rainfall for 16 districts till 8.30 am on Tuesday, an IMD official said.

The IMD issued a yellow alert for East Singhbhum, West Singhbhum, Simdega, Seraikela-Kharswan, Deoghar, Dumka, Giridih, Godda, Jamtara, Pakur, Sahibganj, Ranchi, Bokaro, Dhanbad, Khunti and Ramgarh districts.

A similar alert was issued for 11 districts between 8.30 am on September 16 and 8.30 am on September 17, and for 13 districts from 8.30 am on September 17 to 8.30 am on September 18, the official added.

"Major parts of the state are likely to experience widespread rainfall for three days under the influence of a cyclonic circulation and trough line," deputy director at Ranchi Meteorological Centre Abhishek Anand said.

Ranchi has been experiencing light to moderate rainfall since Sunday afternoon. The city received 30.2mm of rainfall till 5.30 pm on Sunday, weather officials said.

The state recorded 18 per cent surplus rainfall between June 1 and September 14, they said.

The eastern state received 1,079.4 mm of rainfall against the normal of 913.4 mm during the period.

Seraikela-Kharswan district recorded the highest surplus rainfall at 52 per cent, followed by Ranchi at 45 per cent, the official said.

Pakur district, however, recorded 26 per cent deficit rainfall till September 14.