Guwahati, (Samajweekly) The ongoing third wave of floods in Assam further deteriorated on Sunday with 2.25 lakh people affected in nine districts, officials said.
Officials of Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said that around 10,000 hectares of crop land in 219 villages under nine districts have been inundated. “Hundreds of people have taken shelter in 43 relief camps mostly in Nagaon district,” the officials said adding that the worst affected districts are Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Nagaon, Morigaon,Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Sivasagar, West Karbi Anglong and Sivasagar.
According to the officials, around 40,000 domesticated animals were also affected due to the flood, which also damaged many other assets, including road, bridges, embankments, government buildings and schools. The mighty Brahmaputra was flowing above the danger level at Neamatighat in Jorhat and Sonitpur district while two of its tributaries, Jia Bharali and Kopili crossed the danger mark in northeastern Assam’s Sonitpur and Nagaon districts respectively.
Like previous years, Assam until the first week of August witnessed devastating floods that killed 118 people in 22 districts, while 26 others were killed in landslides since May 22. With a respite in monsoon rains, the situation significantly improved in the first week of August even as 57 lakh people were affected in 5,378 villages in 30 of the state’s 33 districts.
Assam witnessed 12 per cent excess rainfall (actual 1644.2 mm against normal 1464.9 mm) in the current four-month (June -September) long monsoon period. In September, the state recorded 46 per cent excess rainfall (actual 367 mm against normal 251.1 mm).
A six-member Central team led by Sandeep Poundrik, Joint Secretary (Mitigation), National Disaster Management Authority, had visited Assam last month to assess the damage caused by the floods, which also killed domestic and wild animals in various sanctuaries and national parks, including the world-famous Kaziranga National Park, where 18 rhinos and 135 wild animals died due to the deluge.
