NEW DELHI, Aug. 31 (Xinhua) -- At least 12 people were killed and over 3,000 families displaced in floods and landslides triggered by heavy monsoon rains in the northeastern Indian state of Nagaland in the past week, officials said Friday.
"Heavy showers have been lashing the state since the past one week. So far, 12 people have lost their lives in resultant floods and landslides across the state. Some 3,000 families from across 400 villages have been displaced," a disaster management official said.
Such is the impact of the natural disaster that the Chief Minister of Nagaland, Neiphiu Rio, recently appealed to the central government for help on social media. He wrote on Twitter about the grim situation tagging a video showing the damage caused by incessant rains.
Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh had said that he recently spoke to the chief minister and assured him that National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) teams were being dispatched to the state to provide relief.
"Spoke to Nagaland Chief Minister Shri @Neiphiu_Rio regarding the situation arising due to floods and landslides in several places of the state. NDRF teams are being rushed to the state by the MHA (Ministry of Home Affairs) to carry out rescue and relief operations," he tweeted.