Assam flood situation grim, nearly 33,500 affected

GUWAHATI: The flood situation in Assam continued to remain grim on Sunday as incessant rain inundated new areas across the state, even though the number of people affected by the deluge reduced to nearly 33,500 in 12 districts, an official bulletin said.

According to the daily flood report of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), more than 33,400 people are hit due to floods in Cachar, Darrang, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Hojai, Lakhimpur, Nagaon, Nalbari, Sonitpur, Tinsukia and Udalguri districts.

Till Saturday, more than 37,500 people were suffering from the deluge in eight districts of Assam.

Lakhimpur is the worst-hit district with over 25,200 people suffering from the flood, followed by Dibrugarh with more than 3,800 and Tinsukia with almost 2,700, it added.

The administration has been operating one relief camp, where nine people are currently staying, besides 16 relief distribution centres in three districts.

At present, 142 villages are under water and 1,510.98 hectares of crop areas have been damaged across Assam, the ASDMA said.

Massive erosions have been witnessed in Biswanath, Bongaigaon, Dibrugarh, Kokrajhar, Lakhimpur, Majuli, Morigaon, Nagaon, Sivasagar, Sonitpur, South Salmara and Udalguri districts, it said.

Incidents of landslides due to heavy rainfall have been reported from Dima Hasao and Karimganj.

Embankments, roads, bridges and other infrastructure have been damaged by flood waters in Sonitpur, Lakhimpur, Cachar, Dhemaji, Goalpara, Nagaon, Udalguri, Chirang, Dibrugarh, Kamrup, Karbi Anglong, Karimganj, Bongaigaon, Majuli, Morigaon, Sivasagar and South Salmara districts.

The Brahmaputra river at Neamatighat, while its tributaries Puthimari at NH Road Crossing and Kopili at Kampur are flowing above the danger marks, the report said.

Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department on Sunday issued a 'red' alert, predicting 'very heavy' to 'extremely heavy' rainfall across several districts of Assam over the next five days.

In a special weather bulletin, IMD's Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) in Guwahati has issued the 'red' alert for Sunday and Monday with a forecast of 'heavy (7-11 cm in 24 hours) to very heavy (11-20 cm in 24 hrs) with extremely heavy rainfall (over 20 cm in 24 hours)' over lower Assam districts of Kokrajhar, Chirang, Baksa, Barpeta and Bongaigaon.

During the same period, 'heavy to very heavy' rainfall is very likely over Dhubri, Kamrup, Kamrup Metropolitan, Nalbari, Dima Hasao, Cachar, Goalpara and Karimganj districts, it added.

The RMC has issued an 'orange' warning for Tuesday and a 'yellow' one for the subsequent two days.

A 'red' alert signifies taking immediate action, while an 'orange' warning implies to be prepared for action and a 'yellow' stands for watch and be updated.