Assam floods: Death toll rises to 92; 36 lakh people affected across 28 districts

At least 92 people have lost their lives and over 36 lakh people have been affected in 28 districts of Assam due to floods in the state. As many as 426 relief camps have also been set up across the state and the rescue operations are on in affected areas.

Guwahati: Seven more people died in flood-related incidents in Assam on Wednesday and nearly 36 lakh people across 28 districts are affected by the deluge, an official bulletin said.

According to the daily flood report of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), three people died in Morigaon district, two in Barpeta, while one each in Sonitpur and Golaghat districts.

So far, 92 people have died in flood-related incidents in the state, it said. While 66 people died in floods, 26 were killed in landslides.

The deluge-hit districts were Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Biswanath, Sonitpur, Darrang, Baksa, Nalbari, Barpeta, Chirang, Bongaigaon, Kokrajhar, Dhubri, South Salmara, Goalpara, Kamrup, Kamrup Metropolitan, Morigaon, Nagaon, Hojai, Golaghat, Jorhat, Majuli, Sivasagar, Dibrugarh, Tinsukia and Karbi Anglong.

The bulletin said Dhubri is the worst-hit district with over 5.51 lakh people affected, followed by Barpeta with nearly 5.30 lakh people and Goalpara with around 4.28 lakh population.

Floods had affected nearly 33 lakh people across 28 districts in the state on Tuesday.

The NDRF, the SDRF, district administrations and local people have rescued 3,991 people during the last 24 hours by deploying 180 boats across the state.

Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal visited a flood relief camp set up at Teok Rajabari Higher Secondary School in Jorhat district and interacted with the people.

• Our Govt is working on a war footing to provide all necessary assistance to the flood-affected people. District admin, @assampolice, SDRF, @NDRFHQ & other depts are rescuing the marooned people.
  
  Visited a flood relief camp at Teok & interacted with the inmates. pic.twitter.com/ZzwPNOrPxs

  — Sarbananda Sonowal (@sarbanandsonwal) July 15, 2020 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="

  Our Govt is working on a war footing to provide all necessary assistance to the flood-affected people. District admin, @assampolice, SDRF, @NDRFHQ & other depts are rescuing the marooned people.
  
  Visited a flood relief camp at Teok & interacted with the inmates. pic.twitter.com/ZzwPNOrPxs

  — Sarbananda Sonowal (@sarbanandsonwal) July 15, 2020

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  Our Govt is working on a war footing to provide all necessary assistance to the flood-affected people. District admin, @assampolice, SDRF, @NDRFHQ & other depts are rescuing the marooned people.
  
  Visited a flood relief camp at Teok & interacted with the inmates. pic.twitter.com/ZzwPNOrPxs

  — Sarbananda Sonowal (@sarbanandsonwal) July 15, 2020

"Our Govt is working on a war footing to provide all necessary assistance to the flood-affected people. District admin, @assampolice, SDRF, @NDRFHQ & other depts are rescuing the marooned people," he tweeted.

At present, 3,376 villages are underwater and 1,27,647.25 hectares of crop areas have been damaged across Assam, ASDMA said.

It said authorities are running 629 relief camps and distribution centres across 23 districts, where 36,320 people have taken shelter currently.

The authorities have distributed a total of 13,338.07 quintals of rice, dal and salt, and 30,841.46 litres of mustard oil along with other relief material such as

tarpaulin, baby food, candles, matchboxes, mosquito nets, biscuits, soaps, drinking water, cattle feed, masks and wheat bran.

The Brahmaputra is flowing above the danger mark at Guwahati, Dhubri and Goalpara cities, besides at Nimatighat in Jorhat and Tezpur in Sonitpur districts.

Its tributaries Dhansiri at Numaligarh in Golaghat, Jia Bharali at NT Road Crossing in Sonitpur, Kopili at Kampur and Dharamtul in Nagaon, Beki at Road Bridge in Barpeta and Kushiyara at Karimganj town are also flowing above the red marks.

Embankments, roads, bridges, culverts and many other infrastructures have been damaged at various places in Lakhimpur, Biswanath, Chirang, Kokrajhar, Barpeta, Darrang, Bongaigaon, Udalguri, Nagaon, Kamrup, Baksa and Dhubri districts.

Massive erosions have been witnessed at different places of Nalbari, Baksa, Bongaigaon and Kokrajhar districts, the bulletin said.

It said the deluge has affected 167 out of 223 camps at the Kaziranga National Park, 19 out of 40 at the Rajiv Gandhi Orang National Park and 24 out of 25 camps at the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary.

Sixty-six animals have been killed, while 117 others have been rescued in the Kaziranga National Park, the bulletin said. The deluge has also affected 35,74,170 domestic animals and poultry across the state during the last 24 hours, it added.

(With inputs from PTI)