Maharashtra was lashed by incessant heavy rainfall for the past four days, leaving vast swathes of farmland submerged and causing extensive crop damage. According to official figures, nearly 8.51 lakh
hectares of agricultural land across the state have been affected.
The worst-hit districts include Nanded and Washim, where farming losses have been described as severe. Continuous rainfall on Wednesday delayed the commencement of crop damage assessments, while rain-related incidents across the state claimed ten lives in a single day.
Data from the agriculture department reveals that between August 1 and 18, crops on over eight lakh hectares were already damaged due to excessive rains, reported Loksatta. A cloudburst-like situation in Nanded district led to massive destruction of standing crops, while citrus orchards in Amravati and other parts of Vidarbha also suffered heavily.
Details On Statewide Crop Damage
In Nanded’s Kandhar, Kinwat, Mudkhed, Bhokar, Ardhapur, Mahur, Loha, Mukhed, Deglur, Biloli, Dharmabad, Naigaon, Hadgaon, Himayatnagar and Umri talukas, crops such as moong, soybean, urad, maize, jowar and fruit plantations across nearly 2.85 lakh hectares were damaged.
Washim district reported damages to 1.64 lakh hectares of crops in Risod, Malegaon, Mangrulpir and Manora talukas. Additionally, in Washim, Hingoli and Manora, about 246 hectares of land were completely washed away by floodwaters.
नैसर्गिक आपत्ती असो वा आणखी कसलं संकट.. जनजीवन सुरळीत आणि सुरक्षित असावं, यासाठी तुमचा जनसेवक सदैव कार्यरत..! pic.twitter.com/J22BWyGnyq
— Ajit Pawar (@AjitPawarSpeaks) August 20, 2025
Yavatmal too was hit badly, with 80,969 hectares of soybean, cotton, tur and fruit plantations destroyed across Pusad, Babulgaon, Malegaon, Mohgaon and Yavatmal talukas. Other districts such as Akola, Solapur, Hingoli and Nanded also saw heavy losses in soybean, tur, cotton, turmeric, moong, urad, maize and vegetable crops.
The continuous rains also led to several fatalities. In Mumbai, one person died and another was injured after a tree collapse, while in Nanded four people were swept away in floods. Two people lost their lives in a wall collapse in Mumbai city, two drowned in Sindhudurg, and one person died in a landslide in Raigad. To manage the crisis, 18 NDRF and 6 SDRF teams have been deployed across the state.
पावसाचा जोर अजून म्हणावा तसा ओसरलेला नाही. त्या पार्श्वभूमीवर आज राज्य आपत्कालीन नियंत्रण कक्षात जाऊन मुंबई शहर आणि परिसर तसंच राज्यातील इतर भागात मुसळधार पावसामुळे उद्भवलेल्या परिस्थितीची माहिती जाणून घेतली; आवश्यक त्या सूचना केल्या.
— Ajit Pawar (@AjitPawarSpeaks) August 20, 2025
मंत्रालय, मुंबई#MumbaiRains… pic.twitter.com/hwD2SE9re1
Dy CM Ajit Pawar Takes Stock Of Rainfall Situation
Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, after reviewing the situation at the state emergency operations centre in Mantralaya, directed officials to conduct immediate surveys (panchanamas) of crop, home and property damages and submit detailed reports without delay.
So far, crop losses have been reported across 78 talukas in 18 districts including Buldhana, Amravati, Yavatmal, Akola, Wardha, Solapur, Ahmednagar, Dhule, Jalgaon, Nanded, Hingoli, Parbhani, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Jalna, Beed, Dharashiv, Latur and Nashik.
