A heavy deluge has taken over Assam, wreaking havoc among residents. More than 21 people have died in the last 24 hours, bringing the total death toll from the floods to 31, according to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority.
About 5.64 lakh people across 16 districts of the state are affected by the floods, and a large number have been forced to flee their homes and seek shelter in relief camps.
The district affected most was Sivasagar. More than 3.59 lakh people have been displaced in the floods. Out of the current death toll, 13 were from the Sivasagar district.
Meanwhile, five were from Charaideo, two in Golaghat and one in Jorhat in the last 24 hours.
After Sivasagar, the highest number of displaced people are in Jorhat (87,662), Charaideo (72,646), Dibrugarh (18,615) and Golaghat (16,799).
The conditions in Charaideo, Jorhat, and Golaghat districts are also critical.
About 872 villages in 44 revenue divisions have been submerged in the floods. The floodwaters have also affected about 24,210.35 hectares of crop area.
The administration has set up 71 relief camps and 202 relief distribution centres to distribute food, medical care and other essential supplies.
The flooding is primarily caused by the overflowing of large rivers like the Brahmaputra, Dikho, Desang and Dhansari, which are all flowing above the danger mark.
Teams from the Army, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), and the Fire Department are all carrying out rescue operations. The Army has rescued and evacuated about 150 people from flood-affected regions in Assam. The individuals consisted of 73 men, 47 women and 30 children. The Army has also deployed three special flood relief teams for relief and rescue operations in Sivasagar, Jorhat, and Charaideo districts.
Railway tracks have also been affected, leading to the cancellation of trains and delays. The Northeast Frontier Railway cancelled several trains, limited the operation of some trains to short distances or diverted their routes. Special trains were also announced for stranded passengers. The NFR will run two pairs of special trains between Mariani and Lumding and one pair between Rangia and Mariani Junction to assist stranded passengers. NFR said it had evacuated over 2,000 passengers and arranged road transport for them.
Officials said that more than 3,62,900 people have been affected by the floods in Biswanath, Cachar, Charaideo, Chirang, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Jorhat, Kamrup, Kamrup Metropolitan, Karbi Anglong, Nagaon, Sivasagar, Tinsukia and Udalguri districts. The ASDMA has appealed to people to stay away from river banks due to the rising water levels
