3 Dead, Lakhs Affected As Heavy Rain Continues In Assam

Three people have died in Assam in the last 24 hours and over 2 lakh have been affected due to floods and landslides, officials said today.

The situation is expected to worsen with the weather department predicting more rain in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland in the next four days.

Officials of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority today said that 530 villages in Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Biswanath, Darrang, Barpeta, Nalbari Chirang, Majuli, Golaghat, Jorhat and Dibrugarh districts have been flooded, affecting some 200,000 people. Dhemaji and Lakhimpur districts are the worst affected.

Assam and other northeastern states have been witnessing incessant rain since the last 48 hours. In Assam, the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been carrying out rescue and evacuation operations as well as providing relief materials to the affected people.

The water level of major rivers like the Brahmaputra, Dikhow, Dhansiri, Jia Bharali, Puthimari and Beki is above the danger mark.

About 13,276 hectares of agricultural land has been affected by the floods, officials said.

The flood waters from the Brahmaputra have also entered some parts of the Kaziranga National Park, forcing the animals to migrate in search of higher ground.

"Flood water has entered the area but the situation is under control. We are monitoring the situation closely and will implement the time card system for restricting the speed limit of vehicles on NH-27 as and when necessary," Kaziranga Divisional Forest Officer, Rohini Ballav Saikia said