Assam Flood Fury: 21 Killed In Single Day, Toll Rises To 31 As 5.6 Lakh People Affected

The flood situation in Assam worsened on Tuesday as 21 more people died in the past 24 hours, taking the death toll in this year’s floods to 31, according to a late-night bulletin issued by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA).

The latest fatalities were reported from Sivasagar, Charaideo, Golaghat and Jorhat districts, with Sivasagar recording the highest number of deaths. More than 5.6 lakh people across 16 districts have been affected by the floods, while hundreds of villages remain submerged.

Relief and rescue operations are underway, with agencies including the Indian Air Force, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and emergency services involved in efforts to assist affected residents.

Over 12,000 people have taken shelter in relief camps across the state.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said he will visit the worst-affected districts to review rescue and relief operations. “The recent #AssamFloods, caused by the cloudburst upstream, have brought immense hardship to our people. Tomorrow I will be visiting flood-affected areas and relief camps in Charaideo, Nazira, Sivasagar, Sonari, Jorhat and Teok to review the relief operations,” he wrote on X.

Over 5.6 lakh people affected

The ASDMA said over 5,64,600 people in Golaghat, Kamrup, Hojai, Dibrugarh, Biswanath, Dhemaji, Sonitpur, Udalguri, Nagaon, Charaideo, Kamrup (Metro), Jorhat, Tinsukia, Karbi Anglong, Lakhimpur and Sivasagar have been affected by the deluge, up from over 3.63 lakh people in 15 districts on Monday.

The bulletin said 872 villages across 44 revenue circles remained inundated. A total of 3,59,535 people were affected in Sivasagar, followed by 87,662 in Jorhat and 72,646 in Charaideo, it said.

Seventy-one relief camps, housing 12,284 displaced people, and 202 relief distribution centres are currently operational, the bulletin said.

The Dikhou and Disang rivers were flowing above the highest flood level at Sivasagar town and Nanglamuraghat, both in Sivasagar district. The Brahmaputra at Nematighat, Burhidihing at Khowang, and Dhansiri (South) at Golaghat and Numaligarh were flowing above the danger mark.

Train services remained disrupted

Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) Chief Public Relations Officer Kapinjal Kishore Sharma said train services on the Simaluguri-Namtiali and Simaluguri-Selenghat sections have been suspended due to severe flooding in and around Simaluguri town in Sivasagar district.

The NFR has cancelled, diverted or short-terminated several trains and is operating additional special trains to assist stranded passengers.

“These special additional trains will run till Friday and are expected to provide significant relief to stranded passengers. Moreover, regular services of some other express trains between Mariani and Guwahati are also operational,” Sharma said.

In a statement, the government said that to ensure uninterrupted mobile connectivity in Sivasagar, Charaideo and Jorhat, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has activated the Intra-Circle Roaming (ICR) facility until July 24.

The facility will allow mobile subscribers to access services through any available telecom operator if their own network is unavailable.

(With inputs from PTI)