Assam flood situation improves marginally; 2.71 lakh affected

The flood situation in Assam improved marginally as the number of people affected by the deluge came down by nearly 2.22 lakh but one more person died on Friday, a bulletin said.

A statement issued by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said over 2.71 lakh people are reeling under the impact of the deluge in 22 districts, while it was 4.93 lakh on Thursday.

A child drowned in Goalpara district taking the toll in the floods to six, the bulletin said. The Brahmaputra and its tributaries are showing a receding trend in most of the affected districts but flowing above the danger level in Jorhat, Dibrugarh, Sonitpur, and Dhubri, an official said.

More than 2.71 lakh people are affected in Barpeta, Biswanath, Bongaigaon, Cachar, Chirang, Darrang, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Goalpara, Golaghat, Jorhat, Kamrup Rural, Kamrup Metro, Lakhimpur, Majuli, Morigaon, Nagaon, Nalbari, Sivasagar, Sonitpur, and South Salmara districts, the bulletin said.

Golaghat is the worst-hit district affecting 88,243 people, followed by Darrang (71,397) and Nalbari (31,456). Altogether 1,159 villages are submerged and 31,907 hectares of crop area have been damaged, according to the bulletin.

A total of 3,449 people have taken shelter in 54 relief camps set up by the authorities in 13 districts. Large-scale erosion has been reported from Barpeta, Biswanath, Bongaigaon, Dhubri, Majuli, and Morigaon.

Three embankments-two in Jorhat and one in Udalguri-have been also breached by the floodwaters. Roads, bridges, and other infrastructure have been damaged in Barpeta, Bongaigaon. Dhubri, Kokrajhar, Lakhimpur, Majuli and Sonitpur.

A total of 3,95,466 domestic animals and poultry have been affected by the deluge in 15 districts, it said. Over 50 per cent area of the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve is still under water, and 69 of the 223 anti-poaching camps are inundated.

Due to flood-related incidents, 14 animals, including two swamp deer, 10 hog deer, a python, and a cap langur have died, while four animals have been rescued so far.