Assam Floods: With Six More Fatalities, Death Toll Rises to 24; 7 Lakh Affected

Villagers wade through a flood-affected area following heavy rains in Hojai district of Assam.

(Photo: PTI)

Six more people have died in the floods in Assam, taking the total death toll to 24 till now, as per the Assam Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) on Monday, 23 May.

According to the agency, a total of 19 people lost their lives in the flood while five were killed in landslides in different districts.

Of the six new deaths, four were reported from Nagaon and one each from Hojai and Cachar districts, reported ANI.

Assam is reeling under severe floods caused due to pre-monsoon showers with over 7.19 lakh people in 22 districts hit by the floods.

The state government has granted an additional Rs 2 crore each to Cachar and Dima Hasao districts to provide relief to the affected citizens.

Additionally, Hojai district has allocated Rs 3 crore for providing gratuitous relief to flood-affected people.

Evacuations Underway

Flood relief operations by the Army, Air Force, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), and Assam government have been going on and those stranded are being evacuated.

According to a statement by ASDMA, a total of 26,489 stranded people have been evacuated with the help of disaster response forces and volunteers.

A total of 624 relief camps and 729 relief distribution centres have been opened in all the flood-hit areas.

Schools have been shut down and government authorities are airdropping food in areas affected by the floods.

Due to landslides and waterlogging, train services have also been affected with several being cancelled. In the hilly areas, trains have been suspended for over a week now due to landslides and damaged tracks.

(With inputs from ANI.)