At least two more people have died in the rain and floods in Assam, taking the toll to 18, The Times of India reported on Sunday. The two deceased were a 39-year-old man and a four-year-old girl, both in Goalpara district.
Over 4.6 lakh people have now been affected. Of these, just 19,946 have taken shelter in 98 relief camps. As many as 21 districts are now inundated, while the number of people affected rose by over 2 lakh from Friday to Saturday.
Dhemaji is the worst affected district, with 99,116 people affected in 259 villages, according to the State Disaster Management Authority. In Tinsukia, 59,261 people from 136 villages have been affected, and in Nalbari, the figure is 58,343 people in 63 villages. The floods have impacted 36,921 people from 119 villages and 22 wards in Dibrugarh, The Sentinel reported.
Crops on 37,313 hectares across 1,289 villages have been spoiled by the floods.
Assam Chief Secretary Kumar Sanjay Krishna said that the state will follow the new relief manual to deal with the floods. The new manual prescribes a space of 7 metre square to each camp inmate as against 3.5 metre square previously, in order to adhere to physical distancing norms in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
Over 2.49 lakh domesticated animals have also been affected by the floods, Northeast Now reported. Vast low-lying areas of Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Mizoram have also been inundated.
On Saturday, the report of the Central Water Commission said: “Due to extremely heavy rainfall in Assam, the main Bramhaputra is already in ‘severe flood situation’ in Neamatighat, Tezpur, Guwahati, Goalpara and Dhubri and in ‘above normal flood situation’ in Dibrugarh.”
The Bramhaputra is flowing well above the danger mark in most places in upper as well as lower Assam. In Guwahati, the water level rose to 49.81 metres as against the danger mark of 49.68 metres.
Meanwhile, 80% area of the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary in the state was inundated, according to PTI. Several wild animals had to be evacuated. The sanctuary is house to the famous one-horned Indian rhinos, along with 1,500 wild buffaloes and thousands of hogs. Incessant rainfall also caused damage to roads and infrastructure in several parts of the state.
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