Helicopters, boats pressed into service in flooded Assam

Helicopters and boats have been pressed into service to evacuate people marooned in the flood in Assam, where about 1.57 lakh people have been affected.
Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) sources said 229 villages have been submerged in Lakhimpur, Golaghat, Morigaon, Jorhat, Dhemaji and Sivasagar districts.
As several people are marooned, helicopters and boats have been pressed into service to rescue them, the sources said.
Officials said relief camps have been set up by the district administrations in the affected districts for the succour of 6,017 inmates.
ASDMA said the Brahmaputra river was flowing above the danger mark at Nematighat in Jorhat and Dhubri, Dhansiri at Numaligarh in Golaghat, Jia Bhorali at N T Road Crossing in Sonitpur district and Sankosh in Dhubri district.

Over 13635 hectares of agricultural land are under water that have destroyed the standing crops there, it said.
Severe erosion has hit several places and a number of roads, embankments and other infrastructure facilities have been damaged in many districts, it added.