Assam floods again as Brahmaputra swells after week of rain; lakhs displaced

With the nation already grappling with coronavirus, nature’s fury only seems to be getting intense with the Brahmaputra river swelling due to monsoon rains resulting in floods in Assam.

The floods have affected 9,26,059 people in 23 districts of Assam, according to Assam State Disaster Management Authority.

With incessant rains for a week, the mighty Brahmaputra – one of the largest rivers in the world – rose in level, subsequently flowing above the danger mark in several areas and flooding nearly 2,000 villages.

Embankments, roads, and bridges have been damaged in many places.

“Dibrugarh has been under water for four days. Additionally, 1,289 villages are submerged and 37,313.46 hectares of crop area has been damaged,” the disaster management authority said.

“Two people have died in separate incidents of drowning in the past 24 hours and more than one million people have been affected, with the flood situation turning critical by the hour,” the official statement claimed.

Related news: Assam: Flood worsens, nearly 9.3 lakh people hit; landslide in Guwahati

Keshab Mahanta, Assam Water Resources Minister told Reuters that the flood situation remains extremely grave with several embankments breached and more rain forecast over the next three days.

The authorities also said that Kaziranga National Park, home to the rare one-horned rhino was also flooded.

Flooding of Kaziranga adds on to the woes as last year too, the national park was also inundated which resulted in almost 50 animals drowning.

A number of rhinos, deers, and elephants were reported dead in the Assam floods in 2019.

The northeastern state of India is susceptible to floods each year and the government has pumped in millions of rupees on flood control, but, to no avail.

The state has deployed paramilitary personnel for rescue operations and to ensure people maintain social distance in makeshift shelter camps to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, authorities said.

At least 18 people have died so far in Assam floods, according to an official estimate.