Continuous heavy showers for the past two days brought life to a standstill across Jharkhand, as the southwest monsoon batters the state with full intensity. At least five people lost their lives in separate incidents as torrential rains pounded large parts of Jharkhand on Thursday. The relentless downpour brought normal life to a halt causing flood like situation in low- lying areas. Several trains were cancelled, road transport was severely disrupted and schools across the State remained closed due to the extreme weather conditions. As per reports, in West Singhbhum district a mud house caved in claiming the life of a woman and leaving her three children injured. Bodies of two school boys aged nine and ten were recovered from an under construction well site, which collapsed due to heavy rain in Jharkhands Khunti district. At least 10 people were injured including three who were critical when a bus crashed in Hazaribagh district due to poor visibility and slippery roads. In the state capital Ranchi, a six year old girl was killed after her home collapsed due to continuous rain. Another denizen named Michael Ghosh- a music teacher at a reputed school, who had gone to the popular picnic spot Jonha Falls with friends, was swept away due to the strong flow of water. As heavy rains continued to lash parts of the State, a portion of the bridge over the Banai River collapsed blocking the Ranchi-Odisha route and leaving a truck stranded midway. A section of NH- 43 Ranchi- Gumla road is also reported to have been washed away. With the swelling of the rivers- Kharkhai and Swarnrekha, an alert has been sounded off in Jamshedpur as both the water bodies are reported to have reached the danger mark. With water logging in Tatanager railway station yard under the Chakradharpur division, several trains have been cancelled on June 19 while the routes of some have been changed. As per the information received, more than 20 MEMU and passenger trains originating and arriving at Tatanagar station have been cancelled including the Tatanagar- Kharagpur MEMU, Rourkela- Tata MEMU and Tata- Barhampur MEMU. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alert for the districts of Ranchi, Khunti, Gumla, Lohardaga and Simdega as a low pressure system is said to be lying over northeast Jharkhand with predictions for extremely heavy rainfall in the next 24 hours. An orange alert has been issued for the adjoining areas. In view of the heavy rain alert issued for June 20, Ranchi Deputy Commissioner ordered the closure of  all government, non- government aided including minority and private schools operating in the district for class KG to class 12. The directive further stated that in case of non- compliance, the concerned school or institution will be held liable under the relevant section of the Disaster Management Act- 2005. The weather bulletin shared by the Meteorological Centre, Ranchi on Thursday, stated that monsoon remained active in the State. In the last 24 hours rain has occurred in almost all the places. Light to moderate rainfall accompanied with thunderstorms while heavy to very heavy rainfall was also recorded at a few places. As per the data released on Thursday evening, maximum rainfall was recorded in Simdega at 102 mm. Ranchi received 62.8 mm of rain while Saraikela received 43 mm. Chaibasa and Bokaro were recorded at 38.2 mm and 37.6 mm respectively. From June 1 to June 17, Jharkhand had been facing a rain deficit of 52 percent. With incessant showers, the State now recorded a surplus of 103 per cent. A total of 170.2 mm of rain has been registered here as against a normal of 83.7 mm from June 1 to June 19.

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