61 Dead, Over 34 Lakh Affected In Assam As Flood Situation Worsens, Several Districts In Arunachal Hit

With over 61 dead and over 34 lakh people affected in 26 districts, the flood situation in Assam continues to worsen as the Brahmaputra and eight rivers continue to be in a spate.

The State and National Disaster Relief Force have been moving stranded people to relief camps, and the rescue work is being carried out overnight. As of now, more than 44,000 have been moved to state relief camps.

As per the report by NDTV, the worst-hit districts in the state are Hojai, Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Biswanath, Sonitpur, Udalguri, Darrang, Baksa, Nalbari, Barpeta, Chirang, Bongaigaon, Kokrajhar, Dhubri, Goalpara, Kamrup, Nagaon, Golaghat, Jorhat, Majuli, Sivasagar, Dibrugarh, Tinsukia and Karbi Anglong.

Along with livestock, bridges and other infrastructure have also been damaged in floods and landslides. Around 3,371 villages still remain under floodwaters and standing crops in 1.28 lakh hectares have been ruined.

The Brahmaputra and its tributaries continue to breach the danger levels, and have also inundated almost 80% of the area of the Kaziranga National Park, forcing the animals to flee to the human highlands for survival.

On Tuesday, state Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal visited the flood-affected areas, and directed the authorities to accelerate the works of embankments. The floods have affected farmers the most, as hundreds of acres of cultivable land in many districts have been flooded.

A day before, the flood claimed the lives of nine people, including three in Dibrugarh district, two each in Tinsukia and Barpeta, and one each in Biswanath and Golaghat districts.

According to the official report of Tuesday evening, out of the 26 districts, Barpeta was the worst hit, affecting almost 5.5 lakh people, followed by Dhubri (4.11 lakh), Morigaon (4.08 lakh), and South Salmara (2.25 lakh).

Other districts that were hit by the flood include Tinsukia, Lakhimpur, Hojai, Sonitpur, Dhemaji, Biswanath, Udalguri, Baksa, Nalbari, Barpeta, Darrang, Chirang, Bongaigaon, Kokrajhar, Nagaon, Dhubri, South Salmara, Goalpara, Kamrup, Kamrup Metropolitan, Morigaon, West Karbi Anglong, Golaghat, Jorhat, Majuli, Sivasagar, Dibrugarh and Karbi Anglong.

Heavy and incessant rainfall has also affected many districts of the neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh, leaving people without basic amenities including food, shelter and drinkable water. Vast areas of Changlang and Namsai districts are still underwater.

Arunachal Times report earlier this week reported that Dharmapuri block in Namphai circle, Bijoypur in Bordumsa, and several other places in Diyun circle have been the worst affected by the current wave of flood.

The flood has swept away many livestock, and the Siang river continues to rise above the danger mark since Friday.

Eight people lost their lives in two separate landslides close to the state capital Itanagar in Papumpare district. Besides the deaths, there has been damage to roads due to rain and landslides. Information officer of Papumpare district, Yalik Jerang informed that two relief camps were set up in Itanagar in two schools.

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