Assam flood situation worsens again, 2 more die

Drowning, rain-induced landslips have claimed 66 lives since May 22

July 11, 2020 08:23 pm | Updated 08:30 pm IST - GUWAHATI

A family shifts to safer place from the flood-hit Baghmari village near Kaziranga in Nagaon district of Assam.

A family shifts to safer place from the flood-hit Baghmari village near Kaziranga in Nagaon district of Assam.

Two people drowned in Assam on Saturday as the flood situation deteriorated after improving over a week, affecting more than 6 lakh people.

The number of affected people was 1.82 lakh two days ago.

Officials of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said a person each died in western Assam’s Kokrajhar and Dhubri districts taking the toll due to drowning to 42 since May 22. Landslips during this period killed another 24 people.

An incident of landslip was reported each in Guwahati and Dima Hasao district. Officials said no one was injured and five families were shifted to safety.

Watch | Assam floods: Lakhs of people affected in 23 districts

1,109 villages inundated

“Heavy rainfall over the past 48 hours has led to the inundation of 1,109 villages and localities across 20 of the State’s 33 districts. The Brahmaputra and nine of its tributaries are flowing above the danger mark,” an ASDMA spokesperson said.

Till Saturday evening, 8,474 flood-affected people moved into 72 relief camps, up from some 1,000 two days ago.

Floodwaters have started to enter the Kaziranga National Park with 46 of the 223 anti-poaching camps being inundated overnight. Park officials said 41 animals have died during the onslaught of monsoon so far.

Nine of the animals — all hog deer — were run over by vehicles while trying to cross a highway along the southern edge of the park. Animals escape the flooded park to the relative safety of the hills of Karbi Anglong district beyond this highway.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.