Flood fury in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh

The North Eastern states of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh are in the grip of second wave of flood, triggered by heavy rains for the past few days.

At least 13 districts of Assam and three districts of Arunachal Pradesh are affected by floods. The road communication to Lohit district of Arunachal Pradesh is presently cut-off from rest of the country due to landslides at several locations. The Dhemaji district of Assam, sharing border with Arunachal Pradesh, too has been severely affected by floods. The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and Army have been pressed into service to rescue marooned people from the flood affected areas of Dhemaji and Dibrugarh. National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) too has been deployed in flood affected Kamrup district. A portion of the national highway 52 had been breached in Assam, leaving parts of Dhemaji district cut-off from rest of the state.

 

Besides Dhemaji, 12 other districts – Kamrup, Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, North Lakhimpur, Jorhat, Golaghat, Sibsagar, Barpeta, Nalbari, Sonitpur, Baksa and Udalguri, have been affected by floods. The river island of Majuli too is facing the brunt of flood as embankments have been breached at two locations.

A total of 817 villages are under the grip of floods in Assam, affecting more than 4 lakh people. Two people have lost their lives till now in the second wave of floods.

“The flood situation in Upper Assam districts is worsening due to incessant rainfall in the area and also in Arunachal Pradesh. Dibrugarh and Dhemaji are the worst affected districts in Assam. Parts of Tinsukia district, close to Arunachal Pradesh have also been badly affected. At least 36 relief camps have been opened in flood affected districts which are giving shelter to around 40,000 people,” sources from revenue and disaster management department informed.

The state disaster management authority said river Brahmaputra was flowing above danger mark at Dibrugarh and Nematighat. Large scale erosion by river Brahmaputra is endangering the existence of the Dibrugarh town and the river island Majuli. Sources further informed that water levels of major rivers, including river Brahmaputra Dhansiri, Jia Bharali Manas and Beki, were on a rising trend at many places in Assam, which might result in fresh areas coming under the grip of floods in next few days.

Arunachal has sounded high alert in the flood affected districts and rescue operation of affected people is presently underway. The two districts of Lower Dibang Valley and Changlang are affected by floods in Arunachal Pradesh, besides Lohit district, which is the worst affected. All major rivers in Arunachal Pradesh – Lohit, Kamlang, Noa Dehing, and their tributaries are in spate.

In the first wave of floods, one of the worst floods Assam had faced in recent memories, that hit the state between April and July, nearly 24 lakh people were affected and 126 had died.