Assam flood situation deteriorates

Official sources said the toll rose today after two persons were washed away by Brahmaputra in Morigaon district, while three others lost their lives in Cachar and one in Nagaon district.

Nearly five lakh people have been hit by the first wave of floods this year in the worst affected districts of Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Sibsagar, Sonitpur, Nagaon, Kamrup (rural), Nalbari, Barpeta and Dhubri, the sources said.

The airforce and the army have been deployed to rescue marooned people, the sources said, adding the district administrations have sounded an alert. They have launched a round-the-clock vigil to rescue those affected in the first wave of flood.

Indian Air Force has deployed helicopters to rescue marooned persons, including a pregnant woman who was stuck in the flood waters of Dibong river in upper Assam, public relation officer Ranjib Sahoo said.

The army rescued 5000 marooned people from Biswanath Chariali in Tezpur. More than 45,000 people have been stranded there by the overflowing Brahmaputra river, defence sources said.

Official sources said surface communication of South Assam's Barak valley, parts of Tripura, Mizoram and Manipur were cut off from the rest of the country as flood water submerged railway tracks in various areas in the first wave of floods this year. MORE