Assam flood situation worsens; 1 more dead, over 253,000 people affected

Flood waters entered 16 districts of Assam on Friday, affecting over 253,000 people, while the death toll due to the deluge rose to 16 after one more person died

Flood waters entered 16 districts of Assam on Friday, affecting over 2.53 lakh people, while the death toll due to the deluge rose to 16 after one more person died, officials said.

Dhemaji remains the worst-hit district in the state, followed by Tinsukia, Majuli and Dibrugarh.

The deluge claimed one life in Dibrugarh district, according to the daily flood bulletin of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA).

The Brahmaputra river and its tributaries are flowing above the danger level at several places and have flooded Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Biswanath, Udalguri, Darranf, Baksa, Nalbari, Kokrajhar, Barpeta, Nagaon, Golaghat, Jorhat, Majuli, Sivasagar, Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts, the officials said.

District authorities have set up 142 relief camps and distribution centres in six districts, where over 18,000 people have taken shelter, the ASDMA said.

A report from Morigaon said 80 per cent area of the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary has been inundated, forcing wild animals, including one-horned Indian rhinos, to move to nearby highlands.

The sanctuary has more than 100 rhinos, 1,500 wild buffaloes and thousands of hogs.

According to its ranger, the flood waters entered the sanctuary on Thursday and the situation is "alarming".

The deluge has also overrun nearly 12,000 hectares of agricultural land with standing crops, the report said.

The Brahmaputra is flowing above the danger mark at Neamatighat in Jorhat district, Dhubri town and Tezpur in Sonitpur district, the bulletin said.

Roads and infrastructure have been damaged at several places, it added.