Nearly 1.20 lakh people in 20 districts of Assam have been affected by floods. The Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) reported that the situation marginally worsened due to torrential rains in Assam, neighbouring states, and Bhutan. The water levels of several rivers have surpassed the danger level mark, causing inundation to new areas. Moreover, the Beki River water level is flowing above the danger level mark at several places. Reports indicate that 780 villages across 45 revenue villages are under floodwater in various affected districts.
The districts affected by floods and urban floods are Bajali, Baksa, Barpeta, Biswanath, Chirang, Darrang, Dhemaji, Dhubri, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Hojai, Kamrup, Kokrajhar, Lakhimpur, Nagaon, Nalbari, Sonitpur, Tamulpur, and Udalguri. The ASDMA flood report says that 44707 people have been affected alone in Nalbari district, followed by 26571 in Baksa, 25096 in Lakhimpur, 15610 in Tamulpur, and 3840 in Barpeta.
The administration of the affected districts has set up 14 relief camps and 17 relief distribution centres to accommodate the victims. So far, a total of 2091 people have taken shelter in relief camps in Baksa, Dhubri, Kokrajhar, Nalbari, and Tamulpur districts. Moreover, over 1.07 lakh domestic animals, and poultry have been affected in the first spell of flood that hit the districts.
On Wednesday, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), and Fire & Emergency Services were engaged in rescue operations, evacuating 1,280 people from flood-hit areas. In addition, the flood waters on Wednesday damaged four embankments, 72 roads, and seven bridges.
Assam has been known to face floods every monsoon season, which affects several hundred thousand inhabitants of the state. The already vulnerable population had to face the COVID-19 pandemic, causing administrative pressures in Assam. A natural calamity like this will put more pressure on the administration.
