Eight people died due to floods and landslides in Assam in the last 24 hours. According to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) report, three people died in the flood and five people died in a landslide.
ASDMA said, “Two people, including a child, died due to floods in Golaghat district, while a person drowned in the flood waters in Lakhimpur district.”
On the other hand, five people were killed and two others were injured due to landslides in Kamarupa (Metro) district. After continuous and heavy rains in Assam and neighboring states, 175 villages in 20 revenue areas of 12 districts of the state were affected in the first wave of floods in the state.
ASDMA flood report states that 58091 people were affected in 12 districts from the first round of floods. 791.32 hectares of crop land was submerged in flood waters.
About 7000 flood affected people are taking shelter in relief camps and relief distribution centers set up by the district administration. The district administration has set up 16 relief camps and relief distribution centers in flood affected areas.
194 animals were swept away in flood waters. 75918 animals have been affected in flood affected districts.
State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF), National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), fire fighting and emergency services and local administration are engaged in rescue operations in flood affected areas.
In the last 24 hours, flood waters broke 22 roads, one bridge, 3 embankments, damaged 4 other embankments, irrigation canals, school buildings, Anganwadi centers etc. On the other hand, 9865 people were affected by Urban floods in Kamrup, Dibrugarh, Darrang, Cachar and Kamarup (M) districts.
Meanwhile, on Saturday, Assam Housing Urban and Affairs Minister Jayant Mallabarua visited various flood affected areas in Guwahati to assess the current situation and review the government’s emergency response measures.
During his inspection, the minister visited several important sites, including Juripar, a submerged area from Basistha Charali to Balughat on the National Highway, area near Excel Care Hospital, Pandu Temple Ghat, Kamakhya Talhti, B Barua Road, GS Road, area behind AGP office in Ambari, Pibko Point, Rukminigaon, Rukmininagar etc.
Addressing the media, Minister Barua said that many of the flood affected areas act like basins, which collect water flowing from the surrounding hills. He said that two major drainage channels are currently under construction to turn this water.