GUWAHATI: The North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO) has clarified that the flash flood which struck its residential colony at the Panyor Lower Hydro Power Station in Arunachal Pradesh's Keyi Panyor district on June 24 was caused by highly localised heavy rainfall and was not linked to the operation of the hydropower project.
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According to a press release issued by NEEPCO dated Friday, June 26, the flash flood occurred at around 6:30 AM after intense rainfall began around 3 AM over a small catchment near the project area. The heavy rain caused two streams near the administrative and dam site colony to overflow, washing away 24 residential buildings and damaging several others.
The incident claimed one life, while four people remain missing. Search and rescue operations are being carried out by the district administration, the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and the Indian Air Force. NEEPCO said it joined the Arunachal Pradesh government in launching rescue and relief efforts immediately after the incident, including airlifting injured persons.
The corporation stated that its Early Warning System (EWS), installed for rainfall and reservoir inflow forecasting, did not record any unusually high rainfall or reservoir discharge during the period of the incident.
Based on its preliminary assessment, NEEPCO said the flash flood resulted from localised heavy rainfall rather than any sudden increase in upstream river flow. It also maintained that the incident was "in no way related" to the operation of the reservoir or powerhouse of the Panyor Lower Hydro Power Project and added that no downstream impacts linked to the project had been reported.