Six persons lost their lives in rain-related incidents in Assam on Thursday, according to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority. While four persons died in Golaghat district, one died in Dibrugarh and another in Charaideo.
The official toll from extreme-weather-related incidents in Assam this year now stands at 62
Heavy rain and floods in the northeastern state have affected more than 21 lakh residents across 29 districts in recent weeks.
They have also damaged 57,018 hectares of cropland, the state disaster response authority said. The rains have also affected over 14.5 lakh animals, with 98 of them reportedly being swept away by the floodwaters on Thursday.
Dhubri is the worst-hit district, with over 6.58 lakh persons affected by water logging. More than 1.9 lakh persons have been affected in Cachar and 1.3 lakh in Barpeta.
The district headquarters of Goalpara and Dhubri have been underwater since Wednesday night due to heavy rains, reported The Times of India.
Nearly 698 relief camps have been set up in flood-hit districts to accommodate 39,338 affected persons, the report by the authority said, adding that relief material has been distributed among more than seven lakh non-camp residents.
Over 1,000 people and 635 animals have been evacuated by various agencies in these districts.
The authorities have sounded an alert in Kamrup (Metro) district where the Brahmaputra, Digaru and Kollong rivers are flowing above their danger marks.
On Thursday, the Brahmaputra and its tributaries were flowing above the danger mark at several places, while the Barak river and its tributaries also posed significant risks of flooding, PTI reported.
This is the third wave of flooding in the state in less than two months. In May, Cyclone Remal, which made landfall on the Bangladesh and West Bengal coasts on May 26, had also led to floods in Assam.
In the second half of June, Assam received incessant rain for over a week, leading to flooding in several parts of the state. A total of 1.7 lakh residents were affected.
Flooding in Manipur
The incessant rainfall in the northeast region has also led to flooding in several parts of Manipur, affecting more than 20,000 residents and damaging 3,820 houses, reported the Hindustan Times, citing a report from the state’s relief and disaster management department said.
Around 1,251 persons are taking shelter at relief camps, the report added.
The state government declared Friday as public holiday in view of the rains and asked schools to remain closed until Saturday.
The flooding in Manipur was primarily caused by two major rivers – Imphal river at Singjamei Oinam Thingel in Imphal West and the Kongba river at Kongba Irong and parts of Keirao in Imphal East – breaching their banks.
On Wednesday, Manipur’s Water Resources and Relief and Disaster Management Minister Awangbow Newmai said that two persons had died in the state’s hill districts: one in a landslide and the other by drowning.
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