Assam flood situation continues to remain grim; over 35 lakh affected, 66 dead

With six deaths due to drowning reported from Sonitpur, Barpeta, Golaghat and Morigaon districts on Wednesday, the death toll in this year’s floods rose to 66. Another 26 have died in the state due to landslides caused by heavy rains.

The flood situation in Assam continued to remain grim on Wednesday with over 35 lakh people affected and the death toll rising to 66 with 6 new deaths reported during the day.

According to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), over 35.73 lakh residents of 3,376 villages in 26 of the state’s 33 districts are affected by floods.

With six deaths due to drowning reported from Sonitpur, Barpeta, Golaghat and Morigaon districts on Wednesday, the death toll in this year’s floods rose to 66. Another 26 have died in the state due to landslides caused by heavy rains.

Over 36,000 persons uprooted due to flooding in 19 of the affected districts are taking shelter in 629 relief camps. Nearly 4,000 people stranded due to flood waters were rescued by boats during the day and evacuated to safety.

Flood waters continued to damage and submerge roads, embankments and bridges in the affected districts. On Wednesday, three bridges were damaged in Barpeta district and one in Dhubri. Several instances of erosion were reported from Nalbari, Baksa, Bongaigaon and Kokrajhar districts.

According to a Central Water Commission (CWC) bulletin, most rivers in the state continued to witness rise in water levels. The Brahmaputra, Dhansiri, Jia Bharali, Kopili, Beki and Kushiyara flew over the danger mark at several places.

Flooding has also affected Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve (KNPTR), the biggest habitat of one-horned rhinos in the world. According to the park authorities, around 90% area of the park spread over 430 sq km is now submerged under flood waters.

Till Wednesday, 66 animals from the park had died during this monsoon. They include 23 deaths (rhino-2, wild boar-5, swamp deer-1, hog deer-14 and porcupine-1) due to drowning and 12 (all hog deer) due to vehicle hits.

A total of 45 animals (all hog deer) have been injured—44 due to floods and 1 due to vehicle hit. Forest personnel have rescued 117 animals including a one-year-old female rhino calf which got separated from its mother till date.