India, April 20 -- A single night of torrential rain on April 19 turned Guwahati's streets into rivers once again, claiming the life of a young woman and exposing the city's chronic vulnerability to "artificial flooding." Payel Nath Das, a 30-year-old employee at a jewellery shop on GS Road was walking through waterlogged Maligaon Chariali around 9:15 pm when she slipped into an uncovered roadside drain. The strong current swept her away. Rescue teams from the Guwahati City Police, State Disaster Response Force and fire services searched for hours. Her body was recovered nearly 150 metres downstream between 2 am and 3 am and she was declared dead at Pandu FRU.

The downpour dumped over 100 mm of rain in just two to three hours in several ...