Assam floods kill five more in last 24 hrs, total death toll touches 84

Another five people died in Assam in the last 24 hours on Wednesday, taking the number of flood-related deaths to 84, per a report from Disaster Reporting and Information Management System Assam.

Nearly 1.439 million people in 27 districts have been affected by the deluge.

The flood waters submerged 2580 villages under 86 revenue circles. 157,000 people are still taking shelter in 365 relief camps and distribution centres.

The water level of the Brahmaputra River is flowing above the danger level mark at Neamatighat, Tezpur, Guwahati, and Dhubri.

As many as 159 wild animals, including nine rhinos, have died so far at Kaziranga National Park due to floods in Assam, according to the park authority on Wednesday.

The Field Director of Kaziranga National Park, Sonali Ghosh, said that so far, 159 wild animals have died in Kaziranga National Park due to flooding.

"Out of 159 wild animals, 128 hog deer, 9 rhinos, 2 swamp deer and 2 sambar died after drowning in flood waters. On the other hand, 12 hog deer, one swamp deer, rhesus macaque, and otter-pup died under care. Two hog deer died due to a vehicle hit and an otter (pup) died for other reasons," Sonali Ghosh said.

The park authority and the forest department have also managed to rescue 133 animals during flood time and 111 animals were released after treatment.

"Seven rescued animals, including two rhino calves, and two elephant calves, are now under treatment," Sonali Ghosh said.

The flood situation in the park has been marginally improving, but 62 forest camps in the park are still underwater and 4 camps have been vacated. There are 233 forest camps inside the park.

The core area of Kaziranga National Park is 430 sq km and the area of the park has increased following the addition of a few editions. Kaziranga is the home of more than 2600 one-horned rhinoceros.

Rescue teams from NDRF, SDRF, Fire & Emergency Services, and local administration are all engaged in the rescue efforts in flood-hit areas.