Guwahati: The death toll due to floods in Assam rose to 100 on Sunday. Two deaths were reported from Golaghat and Karbi Anglong districts, said the official
bulletin of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA).
The deluge has affected 63,058 people in 456 villages under 28 revenue circles across 10 districts. The districts currently reeling under floods are Golaghat, Sivasagar, Hojai, Darrang, Lakhimpur, Jorhat, Karbi Anglong, Charaideo, Nagaon and Biswanath.
The Dhansiri river is flowing above the danger level at Golaghat and Numaligarh, while the Kushiyara river is above the danger level at Sribhumi.
The authorities have opened 52 relief camps and 73 relief distribution centres across the state. More than 8,000 people have taken shelter in relief camps, while over 41,061 people staying outside the camps are receiving relief materials from distribution centres.
The floods have damaged 823 hectares of crop land.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast fairly widespread to widespread rainfall over Assam and Meghalaya on August 8-9 and again from August 12 to August 14. Arunachal Pradesh is also likely to receive fairly widespread to widespread rainfall during August 12 to August 14.
The forecast has raised concern over a possible rise in river levels in the coming days.
Golaghat has remained the worst-affected district through much of the current flood spell, with 58,750 people affected as of Saturday. The Dhansiri (South) has been flowing above the danger mark at Numaligarh, prompting repeated advisories to residents to stay away from the river.
Sivasagar has recorded the highest number of fatalities, accounting for 50 of the deaths recorded so far this flood season. It also remained among the districts with a high number of affected people, with 48,286 people impacted as of Friday.
Jorhat has recorded nine deaths, with 25,259 people affected as of Friday.
Charaideo is the second worst-hit district in terms of fatalities, with 21 deaths recorded, including the latest death reported from the Mahmora revenue circle. Dhemaji continues to figure on the active list, with three deaths recorded so far this season.
Lakhimpur remained among the affected districts in Saturday’s bulletin, though district-specific figures for the latest count were not available. Biswanath has recorded two deaths this season and continues to be listed among the currently affected districts. Earlier bulletins had reported five embankment breaches at Brahmajan in the district.
Darrang also remains on the affected list. Two embankment breaches were earlier reported at Mangaldoi.
Udalguri was listed among the affected districts through much of the past week, including in Friday’s bulletin, but does not appear among the 12 districts named in Saturday’s ASDMA update.
Dibrugarh and Tinsukia had featured among the worst-hit areas earlier in this year’s flood season, including in bulletins from late July. Neither, however, appears on ASDMA’s list of currently affected districts as of Saturday.
Tinsukia had separately faced a riverbank erosion crisis around the Dighaltarang Tea Estate area in May this year, driven by the Brahmaputra’s flow through the Dangari channel. That was a distinct episode from the present flood spell.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has announced a door-to-door assessment of flood-related damage in the four worst-hit districts — Jorhat, Sivasagar, Charaideo and Golaghat — from August 9 to 30.
He said the exercise was intended to ensure that no affected household is left out and that the maximum relief permissible under existing norms reaches genuine victims.
District commissioners, co-district commissioners and circle officers have been instructed to conduct the survey with a compassionate approach. Teams will photograph the damage and upload details through a dedicated mobile application.
The first round of assessment is expected to be completed by August 30. The findings will then be re-verified with affected families, and the government expects to have an estimate of the rehabilitation funds required by September 10.
