Assam Flood: Atleast 9 people’s died, over 5 lakh people’s are effected
Heavy rain and flood-waters continue to create havoc in Assam, with the number of people being affected doubling to over five lakh since the previous day. A government statement on Tuesday said four more people died due to the calamity, taking the total to nine. An Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) bulletin said the number of affected people has reached 5 lakh across 26 districts from 1,97,248 in 20 districts on Monday.
Rail and road links to Barak Valley and Dima Hasao District were snapped after heavy landslides in Assam and neighbouring states of Tripura, Mizoram and Manipur. Landslides also wreaked havoc in Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya, snapping road connectivity in many areas.
Regional Weather Forecasting Centre, Guwahati, has issued a warning for “very heavy” rainfall in Assam till Wednesday, along with widespread rain across the state for the next five days.
Close to 40,000 people have taken shelter in 89 relief camps in different affected areas.
Eleven embankments have been breached since Monday, while another six have been affected, besides damages to houses, roads, bridges and other infrastructure.
Waterlogging was reported from Guwahati and Kharupetia in Darrang district, the ASDMA bulletin said.
Assam flood situation worsens: Centre comes into action
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has assured Assam of all assistance from the Central government even as the state administration has been pursuing measures to ensure the supply of essential commodities to the affected areas and restore communication channels.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said he has taken up the matter of clearing the route with his Meghalaya counterpart.
Indian Army has been called in rescue operations as the flood situation in Assam has worsened.
Defence release at Guwahati said the Army and Assam Rifles have launched two columns for flood rescue operations in various parts of Cachar on Tuesday after receiving a request for help from the deputy commissioner.
The Air Force, which has been assisting in airlifting stranded train passengers from Dima Hasao, has also been requested further to rescue 35 stranded railway employees and their families along with any left out passengers from New Haflong Railway Station, which has been covered in debris due to heavy landslides in its vicinity.
The Air Force has been asked to airdrop most essential supplies to the district from Wednesday, as per an official statement on the decision of a high-level meeting.