Flood situation in Assam improves slowly, 130K people still affected

The flood situation in Assam improved on Sunday with the number of people reeling under the deluge decreasing to 130,000 in 10 districts, officials said.

Two major rivers, including the Brahmaputra, continued to flow above the danger level.

A central team, comprising top officials from various ministries, visited the state to assess the damage caused by two waves of floods this year.

Over 130,000 people in 23 revenue circles and 423 villages across 10 districts remain affected in the state, the officials said.

The affected districts are Kamrup, Morigaon, Dibrugarh, Sivasagar, Golaghat, Nagaon, Dhemaji, Goalpara, Kamrup Metropolitan and Cachar.

Nagaon is the worst-hit district with more than 72,000 people still reeling under the deluge.

Till Friday, the number of flood-hit people was 207,000 in 10 districts.

The toll in this year's flood, landslide, lightning and storm stands at 113.

More than 9,000 people are taking shelter in 46 camps, while another 18 relief distribution centres are serving over 21,000 citizens, the officials said.

The Brahmaputra river was flowing above the danger level in Dhubri and the Disang in Nanglamuraghat.

Damage to embankments, houses, roads and other infrastructure across various districts has also been reported.

The eight-member inter-ministerial central team to assess damage due to the flood wrapped up their three-day visit on Saturday

The team, led by Ministry of Home Affairs Joint Secretary Mihir Kumar, visited several flood-affected areas and held discussions with senior state government officials.

Additional Chief Secretary Ajay Tiwari apprised the central team of the flood situation.

He said cyclone Remal triggered the first wave of flood and the state was hit by two waves of the deluge.

Assam State Disaster Management Authority CEO Gyandendra Dev Tripathi requested the central team to declare the two waves of flood as calamities of a severe nature and to recommend the release of Rs 500 crore on an interim basis.