GUWAHATI: Over 5.15 lakh people across 22 districts are affected as Assam continued to battle the first wave of the floods.
The state reported one more death on Monday which took the Northeast toll to 38 - 11 in Assam, nine in Arunachal Pradesh, six each in Meghalaya and Mizoram, three in Sikkim, two in Tripura and one in Nagaland. The entire region has been hit by floods and landslides, triggered by incessant rains.
According to a flood bulletin issued by the Assam government, 5,15,039 people and cropland in areas of 12,610.27 hectares have been affected. Over 1.85 lakh people are lodged either in relief camps or relief distribution centres.
The Brahmaputra and some of its tributaries were flowing above the danger level at some places. Lakhimpur, Cachar, Hailakandi and Sribhumi are among the worst-affected districts.
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall at some places and moderate rainfall at most places of Assam in next 24 hours.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday inspected the flood situation in Lakhimpur. He assured that the government would take care of the state’s affected people.
“Ration, books, clothes, utensils, duplicate documents, each item will be provided by us and after the floods subside, we will also rebuild their houses,” he assured through a post on X.
The floods in Manipur affected nearly 20,000 people. Continuous downpour along with overflowing rivers and breaches in embankments flooded vast swathes of the Imphal Valley.
Official sources said 3,365 houses were damaged. The government set up 31 relief camps in Imphal East district. The Senapati district was reeling under a devastating flood. A few hundred affected people there were taking shelter in relief camps.
In Nagaland, a major landslide along the National Highway-2 disrupted traffic between Nagaland and Manipur. The incident occurred near the Naga Heritage Village Kisama.
In Tripura, the IMD issued an orange alert for heavy to very heavy rainfall over Khowai, West and South Tripura districts and yellow alert for the remaining five districts until Tuesday morning.
Altogether 10,813 flood-affected people were lodged at 66 relief camps. According to an official report, 219 houses were damaged, either fully or partially, in Gomati, Khowai, Sepahijala, South Tripura and North Tripura districts.