JOIN USAfter a brief respite, incessant rain across Assam and neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Bhutan again unleashed havoc.
The situation in Upper Assam is very volatile with flood waters rising. The state government has sounded a red alert on Monday. In Upper Assam, over 7.35 lakh people are affected in at least 18 districts have been affected, at least three people are dead in the past 24 hours and rains are expected to intensify in the coming two days.
Over 1.18 lakh hectares of cropland have been inundated by the surging waters of the swollen Brahmaputra and its tributaries. Brahmaputra is flowing above the danger mark in Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Tezpur and Dhubri.
According to government sources, a mother and her minor son were washed away by the Sessa River in spate at Thakuthan on the outskirts of Dibrugarh city Sunday night when they were going to a relief camp.
Railway tracks in several areas in Jorhat district remained inundated resulting in delays.
Over 1,600 villages and localities are reeling under the flood waters in Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon, Sonitpur, Barpeta, Jorhat, Goalpara, Morigaon, Cachar, Golaghat and Nagaon districts, according to the daily flood bulletin of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority.
Measures taken
A total of 168 relief camps have been opened across the state. Most parts of the tea city of Dibrugarh remained inundated due to heavy rain for the last four days. One person was electrocuted and over 50,000 people affected prompting the administration to close educational institutions, officials said.
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has directed for immediate relief.In neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh, a flood-like situation prevails triggering landslides. Lohit, East Siang, Tawang and Lower Dibang are the most affected districts, government sources added. In Indo-China border at Tawang major landslides have been reported at seven places.