HT Bureau
GUWAHATI, June 19: The flood situation in Assam remained grave on Monday as heavy overnight rainfall lashed multiple regions of the state, resulting in the submersion of villages, towns, and agricultural fields.
The India Meteorological Department has issued a ‘Red Alert’ and forecast “very heavy” to “extremely heavy” rainfall in several districts of Assam until Thursday.
The Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) in Guwahati, part of the IMD, has issued a ‘Red Alert’ warning for Lower Assam districts including Kokrajhar, Chirang, Baksa, Barpeta, and Bongaigaon, indicating the likelihood of “Heavy rainfall (7-11 cm in 24 hours) to Very Heavy rainfall (11-20 cm in 24 hours), with extremely heavy rainfall (over 20 cm in 24 hours).”
During the same period, districts such as Dhubri, Kamrup, Kamrup Metropolitan, Nalbari, Dima Hasao, Cachar, Goalpara, and Karimganj are expected to experience “heavy to very heavy” rainfall, as stated by the RMC.
For Tuesday, the RMC has issued an ‘Orange Alert’ followed by a ‘Yellow Alert’ for the subsequent two days.
According to the daily flood report by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), over 30,729 people have been affected by the floods in Biswanath, Chirang, Darrang, Dhemaji, Dhubri, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Hojai, Kokrajhar, Lakhimpur, Nagaon, Nalbari, Sonitpur, Tamulpur, and Udalguri districts.
Lakhimpur is the worst affected, with over 22,060 people facing the brunt of the floods, followed by Dibrugarh with more than 3,800 people and Kokrajhar with nearly 1,750 individuals, the report added.
Currently, one relief camp is operational, accommodating nine people, along with 25 relief distribution centers spread across seven districts.
At present, 444 villages are submerged, and approximately 4,741.23 hectares of crops have been damaged throughout Assam, as reported by the ASDMA.
Significant erosion has been observed in Biswanath, Dhubri, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Kamrup, Karimganj, Kokrajhar, Lakhimpur, Majuli, Morigaon, Nagaon, Nalbari, Sivasagar, Sonitpur, South Salmara, Tamulpur, and Udalguri districts.
Incidents of landslides have been reported in Dima Hasao, Kamrup (M), and Karimganj due to the incessant rainfall.
Urban areas in Cachar, Darrang, Jorhat, Kamrup (M), Kokrajhar, and Nalbari districts have also faced flooding.
Floodwaters have damaged embankments, roads, bridges, and other infrastructure in Biswanath, Nagaon, Nalbari, Baksa, Chirang, Darrang, Dhemaji, Goalpara, Golaghat, Kamrup, Kokrajhar, Lakhimpur, Baksa, Dibrugarh, and Udalguri districts. Additionally, the water level of the Kopili River in Kampur has surpassed the danger mark, as per the report.
