At least 43 people have died and many are missing in floods and landslides caused by heavy rains that lashed the remote northeast, officials said on Wednesday, in the second flood tragedy to strike the subcontinent this month. Photo: PTI
The state government has called in the Army, which along with NDRF and SDRF teams, have been engaged for rescue work. "However, majority of the people have come down on their own," Saikia said.
Incessant rainfall in catchment areas have led to rise in water level of the Brahmaputra river and its tributaries, inundating several districts of both Upper and Lower Assam. (Photo: PTI)
Earlier this month, at least 460 people died in flooding in Indian-controlled Kashmir and neighbouring Pakistan.
Operations at tea plantations and oil wells, which are concentrated in the eastern part of the state, have been unaffected by the floods.
Thousands of people in the affected areas, which are in western Assam, complained of an inadequate supply of relief materials and drinking water.
Power supply disruptions prevailed in most parts of Guwahati adding to the woes of people wading through waterlogged homes.
In Assam, rescue workers pulled 12 more dead bodies from the flood waters, taking to 18 the death toll since Monday.
District authorities have set up 277 relief camps in Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon, Barpeta, Cachar, Dhemaji, Tinsukia, Sonitpur, Nalbari, Dibrugarh, Morigaon, Nagaon, Golaghat, Kamrup, Goalpara and Dhubri, where nearly 1.4 lakh people are lodged, the
Villages were still inundated, even though water levels had receded in most of the affected areas, Bakshi added.
"The death toll could further rise, as more news starts coming from the submerged villages," said Pravin Bakshi, deputy commissioner of the West Garo Hills district.
Officials in Meghalaya said at least 25 people had been drowned or died in landslides, with 24 more reported missing in the Garo Hills district of the state.