Flood situation in Assam remains critical; Met Dept predicts more rain

The flood situation in Assam remained grim on Monday with the water levels rising in many parts of the state, officials said.

The India Meteorological Department's Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) in Guwahati has said that moderate rainfall is very likely to occur at most places of Assam, while heavy to very heavy rainfall has been predicted at a few places and extremely heavy rainfall in isolated places.

A report by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) on Sunday night said that two more people lost their lives in Cachar and Sribhumi districts, and around four lakh people are reeling under the deluge across 15 districts.

The total number of people losing their lives in this year's flood and landslides has increased to 10.

Cachar is the worst hit with over one lakh people affected, followed by 85,000 people in Sribhumi and 62,000 in Nagaon, it added.

The administration has been operating 155 relief camps and relief distribution centres in 12 districts, taking care of 10,272 displaced people at present.

The authorities have distributed 1,090.08 quintals of rice, 284.63 quintals of dal, 952.76 quintals of salt and 4,726.26 litres of mustard oil among the flood victims of the state during the last 24 hours.

At present, 764 villages are under water and 3,524.38 hectares of crop areas have been damaged across Assam, the ASDMA said.

Embankments, roads, bridges and other infrastructure have been damaged by flood waters in many districts across the state.

At present, the mighty Brahmaputra is flowing above the danger mark at Dibrugarh and Nimatighat.

Its tributaries Dhansiri at Numaligarh and Kopili at Kampur are flowing above the danger level.

The Barak is flowing above the danger mark at Badarpur Ghat, while its tributary Kushiyara at Sribhumi and Katakhal in Matizuri are also flowing above the danger mark, ASDMA said.

The situation is likely to worsen for the people living in low-lying and river bank areas due to continued heavy rainfall in the state and neighbouring areas, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma cautioned on Sunday evening.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah dialled Sarma to take stock of the situation and assured of all possible assistance, as multiple agencies remained engaged in rescue and relief operations. Fourteen stranded people were evacuated by an IAF helicopter from the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border.

Road, railway and ferry services have been hit in different parts as most parts of the state continued receiving rain over the past few days.