Assam flood situation improves marginally, 17 lakh affected in 26 districts

Guwahati: The flood situation in Assam improved marginally on Wednesday with water levels of major rivers showing a receding trend, reducing the affected population to 1.7 million across 26 districts, according to an official bulletin.

Vast tracts of land, however, remain inundated with sporadic rainfall reported from several districts.

Seven deaths were reported on Tuesday with two in Cachar and one each in Dhubri, Dhemaji, South Salmara, Nagaon and Sivasagar, according to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA).

The death toll in this year's floods, landslides and storms increased to 92 with 79 people losing their lives to the deluge alone.

An area of 38,870.3 hectares of cropland was still inundated as against 49,014.06 hectares on Monday.

Among the worst-hit districts are Dhubri where 3,54,045 people are affected, Cachar (1,81,545), Sivasagar (1,36,547), Barpeta (1,16,074) and Golaghat (1,09,475).

A total of 48,021 affected people have taken shelter in 507 relief camps while relief materials have been distributed to 104,665 others outside these camps.

Dhubri, Cachar, Kamrup, Goalpara, Lakhimpur, Dibrugarh, Charaideo, South Salmara, Nalbari, Karimganj, Dhemaji, Morigaon, Nagaon, Sivasagar, Golaghat, Sonitpur, Hailakandi, Biswanath, Barpeta, Darrang, Kamrup (M), Majuli, Jorhat, Kokrajhar, Tinsukia and Chirang are among the affected districts.

Urban flooding was reported from two districts of Kamrup (Metropolitan), Dibrugarh and Karbi Anglong.

Kaziranga National Park has seen its worst floods in recent years, resulting in the death of 159 wild animals due to drowning or during rescue operations, while 133 others have been saved.

Infrastructure damage includes 94 roads, three bridges, 26 houses, and six embankments. The Brahmaputra River remains above the danger level at Nimatighat, Tezpur, Guwahati, and Dhubri, while other rivers like Burhi Dihing, Dikhou, Disang, Kopili, and Kushiara are also flowing above their danger marks in various places.