Flood situation in Assam turns grim again, over 55,000 marooned in six districts

Guwahati: Amid the prediction of heavy rainfalls in north-eastern states, the flood situation turned grim in Assam on Monday with over 55000 people getting affected across six districts of the state.

Informing that nearly 25,000 people have been affected in Dhemaji while another 15,000, 8,500 and 7,500 have been stranded in Sonitpur, Lakhimpur, and Dibrugarh districts respectively, the state authorities said that the Brahmaputra was flowing over the danger level mark at Dhubri and Neamatighat in Jorhat district, Beki River at Road Bridge in Barpeta district, Dikhou River in Sivasagar, Sankosh River at Golakganj in Dhubri district.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted continuation of heavy to very heavy rainfall spell over Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya on Monday.

According to the Central Water Commission (CWC), incessant rainfall led to an increase in the water level of the Brahmaputra and its tributaries, inundating surrounding areas.

In Sonitpur district, 38 villages are currently under water and the flood waters have submerged 426.50 hectares of crop area.

In the last 24 hours, the flood waters damaged one embankment, four roads, Anganwadi centres, and irrigation canals in different parts of the state.

The situation is likely to worsen further as heavy rains continue in several places across Assam and the hills of neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya.

The daily flood bulletin issued by Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said that six more districts were affected by the flood in the past 24 hours. The affected districts are Biswanath, Sonitpur, Chiang, Dhubri, Kokrajhar, Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Majuli, Lakhimpur and Tamulpur.

The state authorities said that at least 19 relief camps have been opened in Dhemaji, Dibrugarh and Sonitpur districts. The flood, which is an annual disaster in Assam, has claimed 14 lives this year so far.