Imphal : Water levels in nearly all major rivers across Manipur’s valley and hill areas have reached flood stage, with many low-lying regions already experiencing inundation due to three days of incessant rainfall.

According to the Manipur Water Resources Department’s Flood Control Room, several rivers are flowing over their embankments in certain areas, while the authorities have not reported major riverbank breaches yet.

The situation is particularly critical for the Nambul and Nambol rivers. The Nambul River in Imphal West is flowing at 781 meters, just below its warning level. Meanwhile, the Nambol River, which affects Imphal West and Bishnupur districts, is also nearing its warning level, currently at 772.225 meters (warning level: 772.7 meters; flood level: 773.7 meters).

In Kakching district, overflow from the Shekmai River has begun to flood paddy fields in the Wabagai Terapishak area.

Further south, the Maha River in Chandel district, bordering Myanmar, has reached a danger level. The Chakpi River, which straddles Chandel and Kakching districts, is also reported to be flowing in full spate.

The water level of Manipur’s Loktak Lake, controlled by the Ithai Barrage, has risen significantly in recent days. With the Ithai Barrage’s water level now above flood stage, authorities have opened one of its gates.

The general manager in charge of NHPC visited the barrage and confirmed that the authorities opened the shutters following consultation with the manager. Furthermore, authorities continue to monitor the situation closely as heavy rainfall persists across the state.

Continuous heavy rainfall over the past three days has triggered a massive landslide in Tamenglong district of Manipur, completely blocking National Highway-37 (Imphal-Silchar via Jiribam road) at the Nungdalal area between K. Sinam and Nungnang villages, officials said on Friday.

The landslide, estimated to span about 30 meters, occurred around 7 am and left more than 200 vehicles stranded on both sides of the highway. These include loaded oil and LPG tankers traveling from Silchar (Assam) via Jiribam and empty vehicles heading from Imphal towards Assam.

 Authorities confirmed that the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd. (NHIDCL) has deployed excavators and other heavy machinery to clear the debris and restore traffic flow. However, the scale of the blockage continues to hinder progress.

The incident follows a red warning issued by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on May 29, forecasting extremely heavy rainfall, thunderstorms, lightning, and squally winds in isolated areas of Tamenglong district from the early hours of May 30 through May 31.

The IMD has also issued orange and yellow warnings for the neighboring Senapati district, predicting continued heavy rainfall until June 3.

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