Assam floods and landslides claim 8 lives in 24 hours
Floods and landslides triggered by heavy rains have wreaked havoc in Assam, claiming eight lives in the last 24 hours. As many as 58091 people and 791.32 hectares of crop land have been affected in 12 districts of the state. Authorities have set up relief camps and are carrying out rescue operations.
Over the past day, eight individuals have perished as a result of floods and landslides in Assam. The Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) report indicates that three fatalities were due to flooding, while five were caused by landslides. The ASDMA stated, 'Two people, including a child, lost their lives in Golaghat district due to flooding, and one person drowned in floodwaters in Lakhimpur district.'
Conversely, landslides in Kamrup (Metro) district resulted in the deaths of five individuals and injuries to two others. Due to continuous and intense rainfall in Assam and nearby regions, the initial wave of flooding impacted 175 villages across 20 revenue circles in 12 districts of the state, including Dhemaji, South Salmara, Lakhimpur, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Darrang, Nagaon, Karbi Anglong, Kamrup, Biswanath, Tinsukia, and Karbi Anglong West.
According to the ASDMA flood report, 58,091 individuals across 12 districts have been impacted by the initial wave of floods. Floodwaters have submerged a total of 791.32 hectares of agricultural land. Approximately 7,000 people affected by the floods are currently residing in relief camps and distribution centers established by the district administration.
The administration has set up 16 relief camps and distribution centers in areas hit by the floods. Furthermore, 194 animals have been swept away by the floodwaters, and 75,918 animals have been affected in the districts experiencing flooding.
The State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF), National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), fire and emergency services, along with local authorities, are actively involved in rescue operations in areas hit by floods. Over the past 24 hours, floodwaters have breached 22 roads, one bridge, three embankments, and caused damage to four additional embankments, as well as irrigation canals, school buildings, and Anganwadi centers. Meanwhile, urban flooding has impacted 9,865 individuals in the districts of Kamrup, Dibrugarh, Darrang, Cachar, and Kamrup (M).
On Saturday, Jayanta Mallabaruah, the Assam Minister of Housing Urban Affairs, toured various flood-hit regions in Guwahati to evaluate the current conditions and examine the government's emergency response strategies. During his visit, he inspected key locations such as Juripar, the flooded stretch from Basistha Chariali to Balughat on the National Highway, the vicinity of Excel Care Hospital, Pandu Mandir Ghat, the Kamakhya foothills, B Baruah Road, GS Road, the area behind the AGP office in Ambari, Pibco Point, Rukminigaon, Rukmininagar, among others.
Minister Baruah informed the press that numerous regions impacted by flooding function as basins, accumulating water from adjacent hills. He mentioned that two significant drainage channels are being built to redirect this water.