Assam: Flood conditions worsen, over 2.58 lakh hit across 14 districts

Guwahati: The flood situation in Assam worsened on Sunday (August 29) with over 2.58 lakh people affected across 14 districts, an official bulletin said.

According to the daily flood report of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), more than 2,58,100 persons were affected by floods in Barpeta, Biswanath, Bongaigaon, Chirang, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Jorhat, Kamrup, Lakhimpur, Majuli, Nagaon, Sivasagar and Tinsukia districts.

Lakhimpur is the worst hit with more than 1.05 lakh people affected, followed by Majuli with over 57,200 persons and Dhemaji with around 35,500 people.

At present, 732 villages are under water and 24,704.86 hectares of farmland have been damaged across Assam, ASDMA said.

The bulletin said the state government is running 91 relief camps and distribution centres in 10 districts, where 6,218 people, including 2,180 children, are sheltering.

District authorities have distributed 2,841.07 quintals of rice, dal, and salt, 11,711.42 litres of mustard oil, 831.82 quintals of cattle feed and other flood relief items.

Massive erosions have been witnessed in Baksa, Barpeta, Biswanath, Dhubri, Dibrugarh, Goalpara, Kokrajhar, Morigaon, Nalbari, and Sivasagar district, the bulletin said. Embankments, roads, and other infrastructure have been damaged by floodwaters in Nagaon, Barpeta, Biswanath, Golaghat, Jorhat, Nagaon, Sivasagar, Dibrugarh, and Lakhimpur.

A total of 2,39,723 domestic animals and poultry have been affected by the deluge across seven districts. According to the Daily Flood Situation Report cum Advisories issued by the Central Water Commission, the Brahmaputra is flowing at "above normal to severe flood situations" in Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Sonitpur, Goalpara, Kamrup, and Dhubri districts due to the past one week of rainfall.

"Also tributaries of the Brahmaputra, namely Beki in Barpeta, Jia Bharali in Sonitpur, Dikhow in Sivasagar, Sankosh in Dhubri, Subansiri Lakhimpur, Gaurang in Kokrajhar, Puthimari in Kamrup are flowing in above normal to severe flood situations.

"Kushiyara river (Barak and others) in Karimganj are flowing in above normal flood situation," it added.

(With agency inputs)