Six northeastern states have been hit hard by moderate to heavy rain disrupting normal life. Officials have confirmed that heavy rain-induced landslides, house collapse and drowning claimed 27 lives since yesterday. A depression in the Bay of Bengal triggered the heavy rains.

Out of 27 victims, nine died in Arunachal Pradesh, six in Meghalaya, five each in Assam and Mizoram, and one each in Tripura and Nagaland. Due to the rains and landslides, road communications were severely affected in many districts of the region.

An advisory from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said that the deep depression over the northwest Bay of Bengal off West Bengal-Bangladesh coasts moved nearly northwards and crossed West Bengal-Bangladesh coasts, causing heavy rains in most northeastern states. Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department has forecast heavy rainfall over Northeast India during the next 7 days.