Flood Situation Worsens In Assam, Over 34,000 Hit

The daily flood report of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said almost 34,000 people have been affected in Baksa, Barpeta, Darrang, Dibrugarh, Kokrajhar, Lakhimpur, Nalbari, Sonitpur and Udalguri districts. Lakhimpur is the worst-hit with over 22,000 people impacted, followed by Dibrugarh (3,900) and Kokrajhar (more than 2,700), it said. Till Monday, nearly 31,000 people were hit by the deluge in 10 districts of Assam.

The ASDMA, in a separate statement, said the Royal Government of Bhutan has issued a weather advisory stating that cloudy weather with light to moderate rainfall may occur in isolated areas of the country in the next two-three days, potentially leading to rising water levels in the Brahmaputra and its tributaries.

"ASDMA advises all residents living in the riverine areas of Assam to be prepared with emergency kits and avoid venturing into rising waters during this period. Further, people are urged to refrain from activities such as fishing, collecting firewood, swimming, or crossing rivers unnecessarily during these days," it said.

The administration has been operating one relief camp in Kokrajhar, where 56 persons have taken shelter, and running 24 relief distribution centres in four districts. At present, 523 villages are under water and 5,842.78 hectare of crop area has been damaged across Assam, ASDMA said.

Massive erosion has been witnessed in Barpeta, Sonitpur, Bongaigaon, Dhubri, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Kamrup, Morigaon, Nalbari, Sivasagar and Udalguri, it said. Places in Cachar, Dima Hasao and Karimganj have also reported incidents of landslides due to heavy rainfall.

Embankments, roads, bridges and other infrastructure, too, have been damaged by the flood waters in several districts. Urban areas were inundated in many places across Darrang, Jorhat, Kamrup Metropolitan, Kokrajhar and Nalbari districts, the report said.

No river, however, is at present flowing above the danger mark. The India Meteorological Department had on Monday forecast “very heavy” to “extremely heavy” rainfall in several districts of Assam over the next few days.