Assam's Flood Situation Improves, But 7 Lakh People in 17 Districts Still Affected

The flood situation in Assam improved on Sunday, even though nearly seven lakh people across 17 districts continue to suffer from the deluge, officials said.

According to the daily flood report of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), more than 6.8 lakh people are affected due to the floods in Dhemaji, Biswanath, Chirang, Darrang, Nalbari, Barpeta, Kokrajhar, Dhubri, South Salmara, Goalpara, Kamrup, Kamrup Metropolitan, Morigaon, Nagaon, Golaghat, Jorhat and Tinsukia districts.

Barpeta is the worst-hit with over 3.98 lakh people affected, followed by South Salmara with more than 87,000 people and Goalpara with over 78,200 people.

National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), district administrations and local people have rescued 210 people during the last 24 hours in four districts, the bulletin stated.

Till Saturday, more than 10.75 lakh people were suffering due to the deluge across 18 districts.

The total number of people losing their lives so far in this year's flood and landslide stands at 61 across the state, of which 37 were killed by the flood and 24 died due to landslides.

At present, 1,073 villages are under water and 45,175.93 hectares of crop areas have been damaged, the ASDMA said.

It further said authorities are running 62 relief camps and distribution centres across five districts, where 4,852 people are taking shelter currently.

The authorities have distributed a total of 2,543.64 quintals of rice, dal and salt, and 203.7 litres of mustard oil along with other relief materials such as tarpaulin, baby food, wheat bran, face mask, soap and candle.

Brahmaputra is flowing above the danger marks at Nimatighat in Jorhat and Dhubri town in Dhubri districts.

Its tributaries Jia Bharali at N T Road Crossing in Sonitpur and Kopili at Dharamtul in Nagaon are flowing above the danger marks.

Roads, bridges, culverts and many other infrastructure have been damaged at various places in Lakhimpur, Barpeta, Bongaigaon and Dhubri districts.

Massive erosions have been witnessed at different places of Baksa district, the ASDMA said.

It also said that a total of 26 camps out of 223 at Kaziranga National Park, two out of 40 camps at Rajiv Gandhi Orang National Park and 12 out of 25 camps at Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary have been affected by the deluge.

The deluge has so far claimed the lives of 44 different animals in Kaziranga National Park, the bulletin said quoting an official of the Eastern Assam Wildlife Division.

The flood has also affected 13,44,075 domestic animals and poultry across the state during the last 24 hours, it added.