JOIN USTwo more dead, nearly 3 lakh affected by Assam flood; teachers called in for relief works
Two more persons drowned in flood in Assam's Goalpara district on Thursday and nearly three lakh others remained affected as teachers in the state were called in to join flood mitigation work.
The flood bulletin issued by Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said two persons died in Lakhipur and Balijana blocks in western Assam's Goalpara district, where nearly 14,000 people have been rendered homeless due to the floods. Another person had died in the district on Wednesday.
The flood that hit the state on Friday has affected over 2.94 lakh people in 300 villages in Dhemaji, Nagaon, Hojai, Darrang, Nalbari, Goalpara, West Karbi Anglong, Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts, it said.
A total of 15, 977 people have been forced to take shelter in 91 relief camps amid the fear of COVID-19. Assam detected 73 new COVID-19 positive cases on Thursday taking the total number of cases to 856 so far.
Crops of 21, 572 hectares have been damaged due to the flood so far, the bulletin said. Bridges, culverts, roads and embankments have either been eroded or washed away by the floodwaters.
The Brahmaputra and the Kopili rivers are flowing above danger levels at Nematighat in Jorhat and Kampur in Nagaon districts respectively.
As flood turned serious, the ASDMA chief executive officer, M.S. Manivanan asked all deputy commissioners to engage school and college teachers in the flood mitigation work and help them in relief and rescue works. A notification issued by ASDMA on Thursday stated that the teachers who are not actively involved in the COVID-19 works should be called in for flood mitigation work.
Schools and colleges in Assam are shut due to Coronavirus pandemic.