E-Paper
4.88 lakh affected by floods in Assam, 2 deaths reported: Officials
35,142 flood-affected people have taken shelter in 225 relief camps built by the government authorities across 14 districts. The highest number of camps have been opened in Bajali where 15,841 people have taken shelter in 73 camps
The first wave of floods in Assam has affected nearly half a million people across 19 districts with two deaths reported so far, according to Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA).
The deceased has been identified as Nikhilesh Malla Bujorbaruah, a resident of Sanekuchi village in Borbhag Tehsil of Nalbari district. Another death was reported on Thursday in Tamulpur district.
The state government officials have assured that family members of both of them will receive an amount of compensation as an ex-gratia scheme.
ASDMA on Friday issued the latest report, according to which, 488,525 persons across 1,538 villages and two urban areas in 19 districts are flood affected at present.
The flood-affected districts include Bajali, Baksa, Barpeta, Biswanath, Bongaigaon, Chirang, Darrang, Dhemaji, Dhubri, Dibrugarh, Goalpara, Golaghat, Kamrup, Kokrajhar, Lakhimpur, Nagaon, Nalbari, Tamulpur, Udalguri, according to ASDMA.
Bajali remained the worst affected district on Friday as well, where the flood-affected population is 267,253, while Barpeta comes second with 73,233 people suffering due to the floods.
35,142 flood-affected people have taken shelter in 225 relief camps built by the government authorities across 14 districts. The highest number of camps have been opened in Bajali where 15,841 people have taken shelter in 73 camps.
The state government authorities have said that they are providing food, medicine and other essentials to the inmates. The state disaster response force (SDRF) and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams are alert in all the flood-prone districts, officials said.
Moreover, 10,782 hectares of cropland are submerged by the flood-water at this moment which will result in the destruction of large amounts of agricultural products, according to the farmers.
Apart from humans, 427,474 animals have been affected by the first wave of floods in Assam this year and according to ASDMA, more than 200 animals, domestic and wild, have been washed away by the floods so far.
Erosions and damage to important infrastructures like bridges, schools and houses have been reported from various districts. The flood waters have caused damage to 14 embankments in three districts. Other infrastructure damages were reported in 213 areas in 14 districts.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted heavy rainfall in several districts while they issued a ‘Yellow alert’ till Sunday. As per the local reports, heavy rainfall is being witnessed in various districts of Assam.
Major rivers like Brahmaputra, Manas, Puthimari and Pagladiya are flowing above the danger level while rivers like Barak and Kopili are flowing below the danger mark.
Urban floods have been reported in Darrang and Kokrajhar districts. However, damage to infrastructures has been witnessed in a few areas which are not officially on the list of flood-affected districts, like Cachar and Karimganj.
The roads connecting Barak Valley and Guwahati through Meghalaya were blocked for several days due to a landslide but became pliable on Thursday, as per government sources. However, the latest reports suggest that fresh landslides have occurred in Meghalaya’s Sonapur area.
