Agartala, Jun 1 (PTI) A man died after he fell into a manhole as incessant rain caused massive inundation across Tripura, with the state's capital Agartala witnessing a record rainfall of around 200 mm in just three hours, officials said on Sunday.

Normal life was affected as heavy rain battered the city, many low-lying areas were inundated, and people were seen wading through knee-deep waters in front of Chief Minister Manik Saha's residence.

Revenue Secretary Brijesh Pandey said three districts of Tripura - West Tripura, Unakoti and North Tripura - witnessed floods due to the torrential rains in the past 24 hours.

"The flood situation in West Tripura district is more critical than the two. While Kailashahar in Unakoti district recorded 192 mm rainfall in the past 24 hours, the West district received 140 mm during the period, " he said.

As many as 10,600 members of 2,800 families were evacuated after their houses had been submerged by the floodwater and shifted to 60 relief camps across the state, he said, adding that 14 teams have been engaged in rescue operations.

Pandey said the chief minister on Sunday visited some relief camps in West Tripura district to see the condition of inmates.

Saha on Sunday said around 1,300 families have taken shelter in camps in West Tripura district due to incessant rainfall in the past 48 hours.

Agartala Mayor Dipak Majumder visited waterlogged areas in the state capital to take stock of the situation and said the city recorded the "highest downpour of 200 mm in just three hours on Saturday night", causing waterlogging in several localities.

"One person died after he fell into a manhole at Jackson Gate. A control room has been made operational to monitor the flood-like situation," he told the reporters.

However, Pandey said, "There was no death in the past 24 hours due to the floods, but around 200 houses were damaged so far. We are closely monitoring the situation." West Tripura District Magistrate Vishal Kumar said a death was reported from the city on Saturday, but the actual cause of death will be known after receiving the post-mortem report.

A 'red alert' was sounded on Sunday in all eight districts of Tripura for extremely heavy rainfall.

"Following inputs from the Regional Weather Forecasting Centre (RWFC), Guwahati and Integrated Control Room for Emergency Response (ICR-ER), Ministry of Home Affairs, New Delhi, a red alert has been sounded on Sunday in all the eight districts of Tripura," Pandey said during a press conference.

All the district magistrates (DMs) were asked to take all precautionary measures to deal with any situation, he said.

The Agartala mayor said all the pumping stations in the city have been working to drain out the rainwater at the earliest.

"Due to incessant rain over the past two days, around 1,300 families have taken shelter in relief camps in West Tripura district. The government is keeping a close eye on the situation. The district administration, NDRF, SDRF, civil volunteers and different agencies have been deployed to help the marooned people," the chief minister wrote on Facebook.

Over 5,000 city dwellers have taken shelter in 27 relief camps of the Agartala Municipal Corporation after several areas have been waterlogged, Kumar said.

He said the water level in the Howrah river, which has rendered several hundred families homeless, is still flowing at the danger level but will recede if there is no further rain.

"If the downpour continues, the situation may worsen in Agartala city and its adjacent areas, but we are ready to deal with any eventuality," the district magistrate said.

A 16-year-old boy drowned at Jirania in West Tripura on Friday.

The CM cancelled all his scheduled programmes for Sunday in the wake of the flood, an official said.

The chief minister urged the people to follow the instructions of the administration, and said the water level in many locations started receding as all the pumping stations have been made operational. PTI PS BDC