Flood situation worsens in Assam, 5 dead

Saturday’s casualty has taken the toll in floods to more than 150 across five north-eastern states — Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland.

A fresh burst of heavy rains over the past 48 hours inundated Assam and several parts of northeast again, leaving five people, including a minor, dead and displacing 10.99 lakh people, across 19 districts of Assam.

Villagers travel on a raft through flood waters in Hatilung village in Lakhimpur district, about 380 km from Guwahati, in Assam on Saturday. (AFP)

The first wave of floods that ended mid-July had killed 84, some due to landslides and electrocution in flooded areas.

Saturday’s casualty has taken the toll in floods to more than 150 across five north-eastern states — Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland.

Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) officials on Saturday said most rivers were flowing above the danger mark. The water level of the Brahmaputra has been rising by 4-5 cm per hour, forcing Inland Water Transport authorities to stop ferry services.

“We have opened 268 relief camps that are housing 63,797 people. More than half of the relief camp inmates are in Kokrajhar district,” an ASDMA officer said.

The worst hit district is western Assam’s Dhubri where 1.92 lakh people have had to abandon their houses to live temporarily on higher grounds. At least 1.5 lakh people and 1.3 lakh in Assam’s Dhemaji district and Bongaigaon district were affected.

Armed forces and disaster relief forces, engaged in relief and rescue operations, evacuated 2,615 stranded people.

Flash floods and landslides have also affected large swathes of Namsai and West Siang districts of Arunachal Pradesh, washing away bridges and damaging roads.

Heavy rainfall has inundated parts of Meghalaya and Tripura too.