Death toll in Assam, Bihar floods reaches 197; situation worsens

The death toll in Bihar and Assam floods mounted to 197, with a total of 1.24 crore people being affected by the calamity in the two states, officials said.

After a brief let up in the situation, Bihar has been receiving above normal rainfall for the past couple of days and the situation worsened, they said.

The toll in Bihar rose to 123 on Wednesday with the deaths of 17 people, while the deluge in Assam claimed six more lives taking the total figure to 74.

According to the state disaster management department in Bihar, the death toll in the worst-affected Sitamarhi district rose to 37 from 27. Five more people died in Madhubani, raising the toll to 30, while in Muzaffarpur the figure rose from two to four.

The department has put the total number of people affected by the floods at 81.57 lakh in 105 blocks of 12 districts.

Of the six fresh deaths in Assam, one person died each in Nalbari, Barpeta, Dhubri and Golaghat districts and three were killed in Morigaon district, officials said.

According to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority, flood waters have inundated vast swathes of 20 of all 33 districts in the state, affecting 38.82 lakh people.