Assam flood situation worsens, 4500 families homeless in Tripura
Over five people have lost their lives in the Assam floods in the last 24 hours.
In Short
- Five people died in Assam floods in last 24 hours
- This is not the first time Assam has been ravaged by the floods
- Over 76 people have died in floods since April
Incessant rains for last four days have created havoc in the north Eastern states of India. Five people have died in Assam in last 24-hours.
A red alert has been issued by the weather department in the states of Assam, Tripura, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh.
In Assam, 19 districts are under water and over 11 lakh people have been affected. Among the worst affected are Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Biswanath, Baksa, Barpeta, Bongaigaon, Chirang, Kikrajhar, Dhubri, Jorhat, Majuli, Sivsagar, Charaideo, Tinsukia and Dibrugarh districts.
Of the five deaths on Saturday, two were reported from Dhemaji district and one each from Lakhimpur, Morigaon and Kokrajhar.
According to Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) the swollen Brahmaputra is flowing above the danger level at several places and water level is rising 5 cm every few hours. Nine other rivers are also flowing above danger mark in Assam.
#WATCH Assam: Bridge collapses after heavy incessant rain in Nagaon's Kaliabor #assamfloods pic.twitter.com/Optyt5mF11- ANI (@ANI) August 13, 2017
This is not the first time Assam has been ravaged by the floods. Over 76 people have died in floods since April, and around 25 lakh have been uprooted
Prime Minister Narendra Modi who had visited the state on August 1 when he announced a package of Rs 2,350 crore for the entire northeast to deal with the flood situation.
While Modi announced Rs 2,000 crore to mitigate the flood damage, he also instituted a corpus of Rs 100 crore for setting up an expert committee to study the course of the Brahmaputra so that the recurring floods can be resolved.
He announced an additional Rs 250 crore for flood relief operations in Assam.
TRIPURA
Rivers in Tripura are also overflowing including the Howrah river that flows through the capital city of Agartala, leading to a waterlogging situation.
Over 4,500 families have become homeless and more than 2,000 families had to take refuge in various government buildings. The meteorological department recorded an unprecedented nearly 200 mm rainfall on Saturday and has predicted heavier rains.
On Saturday, Director of Meteorological department Dilip Saha said that the regional weather station recorded 116.55 mm of rains.
MEGHALAYA AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH
In Meghalaya, over 100 families had to leave their houses as the Kynshi rover crossed the danger level. Parts of Garo hils have been cut off from the state.
In Arunachal Pradesh's Itanagar, a large part of the National Highway 415 has caved. Modes of transport have also been affected.
WEST BENGAL
Even the sub-Himalayan districts of West Bengal with received extremely heavy precipitation leading to a deluge, the Met department said.
The highest rainfall in the state was recorded at Hasimara in Alipurduar district at 480 mm, it said.
(With inputs from agencies)
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