Assam flood situation worsens, death toll rises to 95; over 1.6 lakh affected

Floods continue to batter Assam, submerging several districts and damaging infrastructure and crops. JP Nadda reviewed the flood situation in Assam after visiting the worst-hit areas, assuring all possible assistance from the Centre.

In Short

• Sivasagar remains worst hit, recording 50 deaths
• Floods affect over 1.6 lakh people across 14 districts
• 100 relief camps are sheltering over 44,500 displaced residents

Floods in Assam have affected 14 districts and more than 1.6 lakh people, while the death toll has risen to 95 with six more deaths reported, officials said on Thursday.

The latest fatalities were reported on Wednesday, with two deaths each in Sivasagar and Biswanath districts, and one each in Golaghat and Morigaon. Sivasagar remains the worst-hit district, accounting for 50 deaths so far, followed by neighbouring Charaideo with 21.

According to officials, the death toll in Jorhat stands at nine, followed by five in Golaghat, three in Dhemaji, two each in Karbi Anglong and Biswanath, and one each in Sonitpur, Kamrup Metropolitan and Morigaon.

More than 1,60,600 people are affected in Biswanath, Charaideo, Darrang, Dhemaji, Golaghat, Jorhat, Kamrup Metropolitan, Karbi Anglong, Lakhimpur, Nagaon, Sivasagar, Sonitpur, Tinsukia and Udalguri districts.

Of them, 57,000 are in Sivasagar, 34,000 in Golaghat and 25,000 in Jorhat. On Tuesday, the number of affected people was 1.22 lakh in five districts.

More than 100 relief camps and relief distribution centres are operating in six districts and are currently catering to 44,523 affected people. A crop area of 16,951.76 hectares remains submerged.

Floodwaters have also damaged embankments, roads, bridges and other infrastructure in different parts of the state.

Union minister JP Nadda reviewed the situation in the worst-hit districts on Wednesday and said the scale of the damage was very large and that normalcy would take time to return.

The Union health and family welfare minister visited the Nepalikhuti area of Sivasagar district along the Assam-Nagaland border, one of the areas worst hit in the latest wave of floods that began on July 19.

Later in the evening, Nadda took part in a high-level review meeting with Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and senior state government officials on the flood situation and the relief, rehabilitation and healthcare measures being taken.

“I have visited the flood-hit Nepalikhuti area. Along with CM Sarma, I have witnessed the scale of devastation. The damage is so huge that it will take time (for normalcy to return),” Nadda told reporters after interacting with flood-affected families.

He also assured affected people of all possible assistance from the Centre and said the government stood firmly with them. The floods have left wide damage across Assam, with loss of life, large-scale displacement, submerged crops and damage to key infrastructure.

- Ends