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NewsIndia3 kids among 9 killed in Assam floods over last 24 hours; more than 42 lakh affected

3 kids among 9 killed in Assam floods over last 24 hours; more than 42 lakh affected

The floods have wreaked havoc in Assam with the deluge claiming nine more lives on Sunday, taking the death toll to 71. Over 42 lakh people have been affected across 33 districts of the state and eight people have also gone missing.

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3 kids among 9 killed in Assam floods over last 24 hours; more than 42 lakh affected
People travel on a boat through flood waters following heavy rain in Nagaon district in Assam (Photo: AFP)
Pallav Bora
Pallav Bora
Guwahati,UPDATED: Jun 20, 2022 20:00 IST

In Short

  • Assam flood claimed 9 more lives in 24 hours
  • Over 42 lakh people have been affected across 33 districts
  • Eight people have also gone missing

The flood situation in Assam deteriorated further on Sunday with the deluge claiming nine more lives, including three children, taking the toll to 71. While six people died due to floods, three others were killed in landslides. All the three landslide-related deaths were reported from Cachar district.

At least eight people have also gone missing. The number of flood-hit people in the state went up to over 42 lakh on Sunday evening. Three deaths were reported from Cachar district, Barpeta reported two deaths, followed by one death each from Bajali, Kamrup, Karimganj and Udalguri districts.

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While four people have gone missing from Dibrugarh, one each is missing from Cachar, Hojai, Tamulpur and Udalguri districts, respectively. With this, the total number of persons losing their lives in this year's flood and landslides has gone up to 71.

BARPETA REMAIN WORST-HIT

Devastating floods triggered by incessant rain continued to ravage Assam and around 5,137 villages are under the flood waters. Barpeta is the worst-hit district with over 12.76 lakh people suffering, followed by Darrang with nearly 3.94 lakh people affected and Nagaon with more than 3.64 lakh people hit by the deluge. The flood victims say that they have now left everything to God as the situation is only turning worse.

The 33 affected districts are Bajali, Baksa, Barpeta, Biswanath, Bongaigaon, Cachar, Chirang, Darrang, Dhemaji, Dhubri, Dibrugarh, Dima-Hasao, Goalpara, Golaghat, Hailakandi, Hojai, Jorhat, Kamrup, Kamrup (M), Karbi Anglong West, Karimganj, Kokrajhar, Lakhimpur, Majuli, Morigaon, Nagaon, Nalbari, Sivasagar, Sonitpur, South Salmara, Tamulpur, Tinsukia and Udalguri.

Udayaditya Gogoi, ACS-District Development Commissioner, was quoted by ANI as saying, "Some villages situated at Brahmaputra River bank have submerged. The affected population is 2.41 lakhs, affected crop area is 5,174 hectares. We've opened 30 relief camps with continued rescue operations." (sic)

The anti-poaching camps of Kaziranga National Park inundated in flood waters due to incessant rainfall.

ARMY, NDRF DEPLOYED

The Army personnel, Paramilitary forces, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Emergency and Fire Services of the state police, civil administration and trained volunteers have been pressed into service for the rescue and relief operations.

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A total of 744 relief camps have been set up by the respective district administrations where over 1.86 lakh people are taking shelter. The flood-affected villagers have shifted to either relief camps set up by the district administration or are staying on the highways.

VILLAGERS SAY NO RELIEF

“Our houses are under flood water for the past three days and we have been staying on the highway. We are already in deep trouble and if the rain does not stop, our condition will turn even worse. We have not received any relief materials from the government,” claimed Rekib Ahmed, a flood victim in Kamrup’s Rangia.

The flood waters have submerged 107370.43 hectares of crop land and over 29.28 lakh domestic animals and poultry have been affected in the deluge across 25 districts of the state. The villagers, who have lost everything to the deluge, claimed that they have not received any relief material from the district administration. They are surviving on the little ration that is left and by fishing in the flood waters.

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“The situation in the villages is very grim and we have been living on the highway for the past 5-6 days. We have got only rice in the name of relief,” claimed another flood victim, Uttam Nath of the same district.

Abdul Hakim, a flood victim in Kamrup’s Balabari village, said, “It has been four days and the water level is still rising. Our whole village is submerged but we have not received any relief material. If it rains further, the situation will turn even worse. Everything got destroyed in the floods. We are somehow surviving with the little food stock left and selling fish which we are catching in the flood waters.”

MORE RAINFALL LIKELY

Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted more rain in Assam and Meghalaya till Thursday and extremely heavy to very heavy rainfall within the next 48 hours. As the weather department has predicted more rainfall for the region, villagers are now worried about their situation if it rains further.

“Some people are taking shelter in the schools. Even the National Highway got inundated. The floods have wreaked havoc. We are now worried what will happen if it rains again,” said Abdul Malik, a flood victim of Kamrup’s Borbola village.

River Kopili is flowing above its danger level at Nagaon’s Kampur. Other rivers such as Brahmaputra, Beki, Manas, Pagladia, Puthimari, Kopili, Jia-Bharali and Subansari are also flowing above danger levels.

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