Guwahati:

The flood situation in Assam continued to improve as the count of affected people reduced to 5.11 lakh in 17 districts on Monday, an official bulletin said.

The Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said two deaths were reported from Dhubri and one from Nagaon in the last 24 hours.

With this, the toll in this year’s flood, landslide and storm mounted to 112.

Major rivers, including the Brahmaputra, continued to flow above the danger level at different places, it said.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said Union Home Minister Amit Shah has enquired about the flood situation and assured of all help from the central government.

Altogether, 5,11,120 people in 49 revenue circles and 1,132 villages of 17 districts are affected, the bulletin said.

The affected districts are Cachar, Kamrup, Dhubri, Morigaon, Golaghat, Dibrugarh, Goalpara, Karimganj, Sivasagar, Dhemaji, Nalbari, Darrang, Nagaon, Kamrup Metropolitan, Biswanath, Jorhat and Majuli.

The number of those impacted by the deluge was 5.97 lakh in 17 districts on Sunday.

Mr Sarma, in a post on X, said he briefed the home minister about the flood situation.

“He has reiterated augmenting all possible assistance from the Government of India to help the State deal with this situation,” Mr Sarma said.

“We are grateful for the continued cooperation being extended by the Government led by Hon’ble Prime Minister @narendramodi Ji,” the CM added.

Hon’ble Home Minister @AmitShah Ji telephoned me this morning. I briefed him with a status update on the Assam floods. He has reiterated augmenting all possible assistance from the Government of India to help the State deal with this situation.

We are grateful for the continued…

— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) July 15, 2024

Cachar remained the worst-hit district with 1,08,720 affected population, followed by Dhubri (81,202) and Nagaon (76,638), the ASDMA said.

The bulletin said a total of 104 relief camps were sheltering 24,782 displaced people, while another 12 relief distribution centres were catering to 3,935 people.

The Brahmaputra was flowing above the danger level at Nematighat, Tezpur and Dhubri, while the Burhidehing was over the red mark at Khowang and Nanglamuraghat. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

A villager shifts his belongings from a flood affected area to a safer place, at Kaliabor in Nagaon district on July 13, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on July 15 spoke to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and took stock of the flood situation in the State. The Home Minister also spoke with the Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat and inquired about the increased water level in both States.

He also assured the CMs of providing Central assistance as well as support of the National Disaster Response Force to combat the crisis.

Mr. Shah reached out to the Chief Ministers of Assam, Uttar Pradesh, and Gujarat in separate telephonic conversations to assess the flood situation as well as the surge in water level due to heavy rainfall.

The proactive engagement by the Union Home Minister comes as the Assam flood and the resulting surge in waters continue to affect thousands of people across these States.

The flood situation in Assam remains grim, with the death toll rising to more than 90 as per the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA). More than 5 lakh people across 18 districts are reeling under the deluge, with Assam’s Cachar being the worst-hit district.

The flood-affected districts in Assam include Cachar, Chirang, Darrang, Dhemaji, Dhubri, Dibrugarh, Goalpara, Golaghat, Jorhat, Kamrup, Kamrup Metropolitan, Karimganj, Majuli, Morigaon, Nagaon, Nalbari, and Sivasagar.

On the other hand, 1,342 villages under 52 revenue circles are still under water and the flood waters submerged 25367.61 hectares of crop area in Assam.

The water level of the Brahmaputra River is flowing above the danger level mark at Neamatighat, Tezpur and Dhubri while the Burhidihing River is flowing above the danger level mark at Chenimari (Knhowang), Disang River at Nanglamuraghat. Over 58,000 people are still taking shelter in 172 relief camps and distribution centres in 13 districts. 2,83,712 domestic animals were also affected by the deluge.

The situation in Uttar Pradesh, especially in the eastern and central regions, is also under observation after an increase in the water levels of several rivers following incessant rains impacting around 18 lakh people in more than 900 villages.

As per officials, nearly 18 districts, including Azamgarh, Mau, Ballia, Pilibhit, Shahjahanpur, Kushinagar, Shravasti, Balrampur, Lakhimpur Kheri, Barabanki, Sitapur, Gonda Siddharth Nagar, Moradabad, Bareilly and Basti in Uttar Pradesh were affected by increased water level.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath earlier conducted an aerial survey of the affected districts and directed the officials to provide all possible assistance to the affected people.

Due to heavy rain in the Valsad district in Gujarat, many low-lying areas have been inundated, and the national highway was also flooded. Teams from disaster cells were deployed to drain the water from these areas. Additionally, the heavy rains caused the water level in Madhuban Dam to rise.

The Assam flood situation remained grim on Tuesday when seven more people died, though the number of the affected people declined to 17.70 lakh with the water level of major rivers and their tributaries showing a receding trend, according to an official bulletin.

Two persons died in Cachar while one death each was reported in Dhubri, Dhemaji, South Salmara, Nagaon and Sivasagar districts, according to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA).

The death count in this year’s flood, landslide and storm increased to 92 with 79 people losing their lives to the deluge alone.

The population affected by the flood improved marginally with 17,17,599 still suffering under its impact in 26 districts as against 18,80,700 in 27 districts on Friday.

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

Dhubri is the worst-hit district with a population of 3,54,045 is affected, followed by Cachar (1,81,545) Sivasagar (1,36,547), Barpeta (1,16,074) and Golaghat (1,09,475), the bulletin said.

A total of 48,021 affected people have taken shelter in 507 relief camps while 1,04,665 people have been provided with relief materials.

In the worst-ever floods in the famed Kaziranga National Park in recent years, a total of 159 wild animals have died so far due to drowning and during treatment, while 133 others have been rescued till Tuesday.

A total of 13,66,829 animals have been affected while 20 animals were washed in the deluge.

The infrastructure damaged includes 94 roads, three bridges, 26 houses and six embankments, the bulletin added.

The Brahmaputra was flowing above the danger level at Nimatighat, Tezpur, Guwahati and Dhubri.

Other rivers flowing over the red mark are Burhi Dihing at Chenimari (Dibrugarh), Dikhou at Sivasagar, Disang at Nanglamuraghat (Sivasagar), Kopili at Dharamtul (Nagaon) and Kushiara at Karimganj.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Tuesday that the Brahmaputra and its tributaries were flowing below the danger levels in most places, even as the overall flood situation in the state improved marginally.

Sarma, in a post on X, said, “-Good News – The water level of the Brahmaputra and its tributaries is below the danger level in most places.” In a few places, it was still flowing above the danger level but showing a falling trend, he added. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Guwahati:

Eight more people lost their lives as the flood situation in Assam remained grim on Sunday, an official bulletin said.

Two deaths each were reported from Dhubri and Nalbari, and one each from Cachar, Goalpara, Dhemaji and Sivsagar, the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) bulletin said.

With this, the toll in this year’s flood, landslide and storm increased to 78.

Altogether 22,74,289 people in 28 districts were affected by the flood. Dhubri continued to be the worst-hit with 7,54,791 affected people.

A total of 269 relief camps were operating in the state, providing shelter to 53,689 people.

The Brahmaputra was flowing above the danger mark at Nematighat, Tezpur and Dhubri.

Other rivers that have breached the red mark are Burhidihing in Khowang, Dikhou in Sivsagar, DIsang in Nanglamuraghat, Dhansiri in Numaligarh, Kopili in DHaramtul, Beki in Barpeta, Sankosh in Golakganj, Barak in BP Ghat and Kushiyara in Karimganj.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Guwahati:

It’s been three days since his son fell into a drain in flooded Guwahati, but Hiralal Sarkar has not given up yet. His relentless search continues for the eight-year-old Abhinash while the city – the largest in Assam – remains submerged.

Hiralal has been using an iron rod to search in the sewage, but his son’s slippers were all that he could find. Showing the pair, he lamented, “I have been searching with an iron rod and have managed to find my son’s sandals. I possibly cannot find him with the rod. The government has the machinery, they must find my boy.”

He has handed over the slippers to cops for verification.

Abhinash had slipped from his father’s scooter and fallen into the drain while returning home amid heavy rain on Thursday evening. Hiralal had said he saw his son’s hand in the drain and dived in, but could not get a hold of him.

The man spent the night on the veranda of a shop and vowed he wouldn’t rest till he found him. Since, wearing a t-shirt and half-pants, he has been wading through slush and garbage to look for his son.

The state authorities have launched a massive search operation involving multiple agencies to help Hiralal find his son. Sniffer dogs, super suckers, and excavators have been deployed too.

An official said parts of the drain covered with concrete slabs in the downstream areas are being lifted in an effort to trace the missing boy. Hiralal and his wife have also met Chief Minister Himanta Sarma, who has ordered the rescue teams to intensify their search operation.

Floods in Assam have claimed six lives over the past 24 hours while over 23 lakh remain on the edge.

In Guwahati, Anil Nagar, Nabin Nagar, and Rukminigaon continued to be under water for the fourth day while the Brahmaputra was flowing above the danger level at several places.

As many as 58 people have lost their lives due to floods in Assam so far this year.

Guwahati (Assam):

The flood situation in Assam is critical with a total death toll of 52 and about 21.13 lakh people are affected in 29 districts by the second wave of flood.

According to the flood report of Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), 6 people died in the last 24 hours in the state the total death toll has risen to 52.

More than 3.86 lakh people are taking shelter in 515 relief camps and distribution centres set up by the administration in 24 flood-hit districts.

The Assam State Disaster Management Authority said that 11,20,165 animals were also affected by the deluge.

The number of affected villages has risen to 3,208 while devastating floodwaters have resulted in the death of 31 wild animals in Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve (KNP), the field director of KNP said.

According to the reports of Kaziranga National Park authority, 23 hog deer drowned in flood waters while 7 other hog deer died under care.

The flood-affected districts are Goalpara, Nagaon, Nalbari, Kamrup, Morigaon, Dibrugarh, Sonitpur, Lakhimpur, South Salmara, Dhubri, Jorhat, Charaideo, Hojai, Karimganj, Sivasagar, Bongaigaon, Barpeta, Dhemaji, Hailakandi, Golaghat, Darrang, Biswanath, Cachar, Kamrup (M), Tinsukia, Karbi Anglong, Chirang, Karbi Anglong West, Majuli.

According to the Morigaon District Administration, “The flood situation in Assam’s Morigaon district is still grim as more than 55,000 people have been affected by the deluge. Thousands of villagers are now taking shelter on embankments, and roads after the flood waters entered their homes.”

As per the information from the district administration, 194 villages in the district are still submerged in the floodwaters.

Chandini Devi, from the Bhuragaon area in Morigaon district, told ANI that, for the last 4 days her family has been living in a makeshift tent on the embankment.

Dipen Deka, another flood-affected villager, said that this year floods have submerged the area.

“Many people have lost their valuable goods in this flood and household articles were also damaged. We have been living in the floodwaters for the last 4 days. People are facing lots of problems,” Dipen Deka said.

Meanwhile, Assam Agriculture Minister Atul Bora on Thursday visited the flood-affected areas in Morigaon district.

He also interacted with the flood-affected people who are now taking shelter on the embankment in the Bhuragaon area in the Morigaon district.

Atul Bora told ANI that the water level of the Brahmaputra River is receding in the Morigaon district, but the flood situation is still grim.

“As instructed by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, I came to Morigaon to take stock of the flood situation. The situation is still grim and 28 districts of the state have been affected in this flood. Yesterday we had a meeting of the state cabinet headed by the Chief Minister and he instructed us to visit the flood-affected districts,” he said.

“The Assam CM instructed me to visit Morigaon and Nagaon districts. I discussed this with the district administration and as of today 55,459 people in the district have been affected by the deluge and 194 villages have been affected,” said Atul Bora.

The Assam Agriculture Minister also said that the farmers of the state will not face more damage because this flood comes in July.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday visited the flood-affected areas in the state capital and directed the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority to take appropriate measures to drain the flood water accumulated there.

The Chief Minister visited the Shiv Mandir sluice gate, BBC Colony from Pandu Port Road, and Pandunath Devalaya sluice gate in the city to take stock of the flood situation.

The area is inundated due to the rising waters of the Brahmaputra River. The Chief Minister, during the visit, took stock of the problems faced by the people and the steps taken to address them.

The Chief Minister inspected the drains along the Pandu Port road and directed the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority to take appropriate measures to drain the water accumulated there.

He then visited the sluice gate at BBC Colony on Pandu Port Road and the Pandunath Devalaya sluice gate.

As there is no guard wall at the Pandunath Devalaya sluice gate and due to the flood waters of the Brahmaputra inundated some areas, the Chief Minister directed the Water Resources Department to construct the guard wall as soon as possible.

The Chief Minister said that appropriate steps will be taken to solve the flood problem in these areas and that the water level of the Brahmaputra is expected to decrease from today.

The Indian Army has been actively involved in extensive flood relief operations in the villages of Sivaguri (Dhemaji District, Assam).

In response to the dire situation, the Indian Army has deployed multiple flood relief columns in the affected areas.

Meanwhile, amid a disastrous situation in Assam due to floods, Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi on Thursday alleged that the BJP government is repeatedly giving embankment projects to the same contractors who have built faulty embankments.

“I had said that it is a matter of great concern. I am very concerned and I think the central government should also be concerned. I am aware that Prime Minister Modi talked to the Chief Minister, but I am worried about whether the Chief Minister himself knows the real truth or not. For the last 10 years, we have been seeing that the Jal Shakti Department of the BJP government is repeatedly giving embankment projects to contractors who build broken embankments or are not able to do their work properly while building embankments, but even after that, the same contractor gets work again and again,” Gogoi said.

He also mentioned that the BJP actually does not want a long-term and permanent solution.

“Jal Shakti Department is being used like an ATM here. That is why I said in my speech that the Water Minister from the Centre should come and see how much money is being looted through embankment during the floods in Assam,” the Congress MP said.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Guwahati:

A total of 31 animals have died so far due to drowning, while 82 others have been rescued from flood waters in the worst deluge in recent years inside the famed Kaziranga National Park, a park official said on Thursday.

The animal mortality includes 23 hog deer due to drowning in the Park and 15 during treatment.

The forest officials rescued 73 hog deer, two otters, two sambar deer, a scops owl, one rhino calf, an Indian hare and a jungle cat.

Currently, 20 animals are under treatment, while 31 others have been released after treatment, the official said.

A total of 11 animals had died due to drowning, while 65 others were rescued from the flood waters of the severely affected park till Wednesday.

Meanwhile, a Royal Bengal Tiger strayed into a neighbouring village in the Nagaon district from the flooded park and forest officials were trying to tranquilise the animal.

Police personnel were deployed to prevent any untoward incident, and control the people as panic gripped the village area.

Two persons were arrested for allegedly consuming venison, likely deer which had strayed from the Northern range of the Park in the Biswanath district.

Out of the total 233 camps in the Eastern Assam Wildlife Division, 95 were still inundated till Thursday evening as against the 141 during the day, the official said.

Forest department employees, including security personnel, stay in these camps inside the national park to conduct patrolling to protect the flora and fauna.

In the Eastern or Agoratoli range, 12 of the 34 camps have been inundated, while 31 of the 58 camps in the central range, 33 out of the 39 in the Western or Bagori range, eight out of the 25 in Burapahar and three out of the nine in Bokakhat were under flood waters.

Altogether seven camps have been vacated by the forest personnel so far – two in the central range, three in Bokakhat, and one each in Biswanath and Nagaon wildlife divisions.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Guwahati:

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday said the state’s flood situation was ”under control” but everything depends on the weather conditions during the next few days. The affected people are being provided relief and plans are being drawn up for their rehabilitation along with the repair of damaged infrastructure, he said.

”The situation is under control but everything depends on the weather. If there is no further rain in Arunachal Pradesh and South Tibets, the situation will improve, but it might worsen if there is more rainfall”, Mr Sarma told reporters after reviewing the flood situation in the severely affected river island district Majuli.

The situation is manageable now but if it starts raining again, water from the Brahmaputra river and its tributaries will re-enter the affected villages since the embankments that were breached are still open, the Chief Minister said. ”As of now, I am hoping the weather will improve and the situation will be better with no more rainfall in Arunachal Pradesh and Upper Assam,” he said.

An update on #AssamFloods

Situation is under control, and if there are no further rains in Arunachal and South Tibet, things will improve

Be it funds or the support of NDRF & Armed Forces, Govt of India is standing completely with the people of Assam pic.twitter.com/koSqPcFYYO

— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) July 4, 2024

The central leadership is ”all along with us and an active partner in handling the situation in the state”, Mr Sarma said. ”Be it funds or the support of NDRF and armed forces, the Government of India is standing completely with the people of Assam”, he added.

Mr Sarma said that many people are facing hardships due to floods and he interacted with many families to assure them that they will be provided with timely relief as per the norms. ”Those who have lost their homes will be provided with houses and those who have suffered any other kind of loss will also be compensated,” he added.

Earlier in the day, the Chief Minister visited various areas of Guwahati city which have been inundated due to rising waters of the Brahmaputra.
He directed the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) to take measures to drain out water accumulated there.

He said that appropriate steps will be taken to solve the flood problem in these areas. He directed the Water Resources Department and the GMDA to address the issues that cause flooding in the area, including the construction of sluice gates. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Dispur:

The Assam Rifles has launched Operation Jal Raahat II to prevent rising water level from breaching the riverbanks and prevent flooding in residential areas in Imphal East and Imphal West districts.

“In response to urgent requests Assam Rifles launched Operation Jal Raahat II to combat rising water levels and prevent flooding in residential areas of Imphal West and East districts,” the Assam Rifles said in a statement.

A flood control room has been activated with the helpline number 7075578116, it said.

Reports of severe water-logging and rivers reaching high flood levels have been received from Imphal West, Imphal East, and Thoubal districts, it said.

The Assam Rifles said it received a requisition request from the civil administration on July 2 for deployment of two humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) columns in New Checkon and Mahabali temple In Imphal.

The prompt actions of Assam Rifles resulted in safely rescuing 550 civilians including men, women, and children and preventing the overflow of the Imphal River to adjoining areas.

One of these columns moved to Irilbung and fortified the banks of the Iril River. Additionally, more HADR columns were deployed at Singjamei, Nambol and Keithelmanbi.

A mobile medical unit was set up to provide immediate medical assistance to rescued people, the Assam Rifles said.

The successful execution of this flood relief operation serves as a testament to the unwavering dedication, professionalism, and preparedness of the Assam Rifles, it said.

Guwahati:

The flood situation in Assam continued to deteriorate with eight more people losing their lives and more than 16.25 lakh people reeling under the deluge across 27 districts on Wednesday, an official bulletin said.

Till Tuesday, more than 11.3 lakh people were suffering in flood waters across 23 districts of the state.

According to the daily flood report of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), two persons died at Tezpur revenue circle of Sonitpur district, while one each drowned at Mayong of Morigaon, Naharkatia of Dibrugarh, Pub Mangaladi of Darrang, Dergaon of Golaghat, Halem of Biswanath and Margherita of Tinsukia.

With this, the total number of people losing their lives in this year’s flood, landslide and storm has increased to 56.

Besides, three more persons are missing and feared to be washed away by flood waters in Sonitpur, Sivasagar and Golaghat districts.

The report said more than 16,25,000 people are hit due to the floods in Barpeta, Biswanath, Cachar, Charaideo, Chirang, Darrang, Dhemaji, Dhubri, Dibrugarh, Goalpara, Golaghat, Hailakandi, Hojai, Jorhat, Kamrup, Kamrup Metropolitan, East Karbi Anglong, West Karbi Anglong, Karimganj, Lakhimpur, Majuli, Morigaon, Nagaon, Nalbari, Sivasagar, Sonitpur and Tinsukia districts.

Dhubri is the worst hit with over 2.23 lakh people suffering, followed by Darrang with nearly 1.84 lakh people and Lakhimpur with more than 1.66 lakh people reeling under flood waters, it added.

The administration has been operating 515 relief camps and relief distribution centres in 24 districts, where 3,86,950 people have taken shelter at present.

Nearly 8,400 people have been rescued by civil administration, SDRF, NDRF and Emergency Services personnel from various parts of the state, ASDMA said.

The authority has distributed 6,372.42 quintals of rice, 1,230.96 quintals of dal, 365.61 quintals of salt and 27,303.13 litres of mustard oil among the flood victims of the state during the last 24 hours.

At present, 2,800 villages are under water and 42,476.18 hectares of crop areas have been damaged across Assam, the ASDMA said.

Embankments, roads, bridges and other infrastructure have been damaged by flood waters in various districts.

At present, the mighty Brahmaputra is flowing above the danger marks at Nimatighat, Tezpur, Guwahati, Goalpara and Dhubri.

Its tributaries Subansiri at Badatighat, Burhidihing at Chenimari, Dikhou at Sivasagar, Disang at Nanglamuraghat, Dhansiri at Numaligarh, and Kopili at Kampur and Dharamtul are flowing above the danger levels.

The Barak river is flowing above the danger mark at AP Ghat, BP Ghat, Chotabakra and Fuletrak, while its tributaries Dhaleswari at Gharmura, Katakhal at Matizuri and Kushiyara at Karimganj town and are also flowing above the danger marks, ASDMA said.

On account of widespread flooding, over 11,20,100 domestic animals and poultry are affected across the state.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)