Assam flood situation deteriorates, over 2.25 lakh people affected

Guwahati: The overall flood situation in Assam deteriorated on Saturday as the rising Brahmaputra river and its tributaries inundated vast tracts in 15 districts and affected 2,25,501 people of the state, according to the daily bulletin issued by the Assam State Disaster Management Agency (ASDMA).

There have been, however, no loss of human or animal life so far, the bulletin said.

The current wave of flood triggered by continuous heavy rainfall in the catchment areas has hit Baksa, Barpeta, Biswanath, Bongaigaon, Chirang, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Jorhat, Lakhimpur, Majuli, Morigaon, Sivasagar, Sonitpur and Tinsukia districts and affected 512 villages under 34 revenue circles in them, it said.

The rivers flowing through most of the affected districts are maintaining a rising trend and are flowing above the danger mark in several places, an official said.

Incessant rainfall in the upper reaches in Arunachal Pradesh has led to the rise in the water level of the Brahmaputra leading to floods in the State, the official added.

The highest number of 91,437 people have been affected in Lakhimpur, followed by 47,752 in Majuli and 31,839 in Dhemaji.

A total of 6898 people have taken shelter in 62 relief camps set up by the district administrations of Bongaigaon, Chirang, Dhemaji and Majuli while relief centres have been kept ready in Baksa, Dibrugarh and Jorhat, the official said.

Meanwhile, 20 people and 40 animals were evacuated to safety by boats on Saturday and six medical teams have been deployed so far, the bulletin added.

A total of 1,33,907 animals, including 82,455 big, 29528 small and 21924 poultry have been affected by the current wave of flood.

There are reports of 41 houses damaged in the Baksa and Bongaigaon districts.

Two bridges, one each in Chirang and Sonitpur have been damaged as well as 27 roads in Bongaigaon, Chirang, Golaghat, Majuli and Sivasagar though no embankments have been breached so far.

Large scale erosion has been reported from several places in Baksa, Biswanath, Bongaigaon, Dibrugarh, Goalpara, Kamrup, Kokrajhar, Majuli, Morigaon, Sonitpur and Tinsukia districts, the bulletin said.