Thane

Monsoon-related incidents have claimed three lives and forced the evacuation of nearly 800 persons across Thane district in the past week, while a lightning strike in the latest weather-related incident left two persons injured, officials said on Thursday.

The district administration said in an official release that the fatalities include one person each from Thane city, Ambernath, and Mira Bhayander.

A total of 11 persons have sustained injuries in various rain-related accidents during the season, the official said.

A lightning strike injured two persons, including a teenage girl, in Murbad taluka on Wednesday, said tehsildar Abhijit Deshmukh. Both were rushed to the Tokawde Primary Health Centre and are reported to be out of danger, he said.

In separate incidents, two young boys drowned in a river and a nullah in Bhiwandi on July 5 and July 6, respectively. Search operations to trace them are still underway, they said.

Meanwhile, the body of an unidentified man was recovered from the swollen Potgaon river in Murbad. The body has been sent for a post-mortem, and police are working to establish his identity, said officials.

Torrential downpours have caused widespread disruption, forcing emergency teams to rescue and shift 797 persons from 229 families to safer locations, they said.

The heavy rains have also severely damaged infrastructure, causing 136 houses to collapse either partially or completely across the district. Additionally, five huts, two poultry farms, one community hall, and an Anganwadi centre have been destroyed, they added.

Authorities moved swiftly on Wednesday after hill torrents threatened to wash away Adarsh Chawl locality in Kalwa, an official release said on Thursday.

A spot inspection showed that natural drainage channels and nullahs carrying stormwater down the hill had become severely choked with debris. This forced the rainwater to overflow into nearby residential units, it said.

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“The Thane Municipal Corporation immediately deployed personnel to clear the choked nullahs, effectively restoring the natural flow of the hill torrents and safely diverting the water into the main city drainage network,” the release said.

The district administration said no structural collapses occurred, and no loss of life or financial damage was reported.