Several homes were swallowed by the Ganges River in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district after severe overnight erosion, forcing dozens of families to flee, local officials and residents said on Tuesday. The incident occurred late Monday in Samserganj’s Uttar Chachand and Madhya Chachand areas, where residents were asleep when a loud cracking sound alerted them to part of their houses collapsing into the river. Many escaped with only a few belongings, but cattle, trees and household goods were lost.

No casualties were reported, but hundreds of families remain at risk as riverbank cracks spread to nearby houses and a riverside temple. Officials said the Ganges water level at the Farakka Barrage was flowing 7.10 feet above the danger mark early Tuesday, with upstream levels at 80.10 feet and downstream at 78.95 feet.

Authorities had begun public announcements on Monday night urging residents along the Ganges and Bagmari rivers to move to safer ground as floodwaters entered several villages. Relief teams have reached the affected areas, but residents have called for immediate, stronger intervention to prevent further damage.

Erosion along the Ganges is a recurring threat in Samserganj, where homes, temples and farmland have been lost to the river in previous years.