Assam Floods: 9 Dead So Far, 6.6 Lakh People in 27 Districts Affected

With Assam and parts of the northeast continuing to witness incessant rainfall, the disaster has now claimed nine lives, and has affected more than 6.6 lakh people in 27 different districts as of Thursday, 19 May, reported NDTV.

Nearly 48,000 people have been shifted to 248 relief camps.

Meanwhile, the Cachar district administration has closed all government and private educational institutions and non-essential private establishments for 48 hours in the district.

Government Aid

Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and took stock of the situation. He further assured the Assamese CM of "all possible help" from the Centre.

In a tweet, Shah said: "Concerned about the situation in the wake of heavy rainfall in parts of Assam... NDRF teams are already been deployed. Assured all possible help from the central government."

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued heavy rainfall warning in Assam and surrounding states till 18 May 2022, with widespread rain predicted across the state.

The state government has announced monetary assistance of Rs 4 lakh each to the kin of those who have lost their lives.

As per news agency ANI, Congress MLA Sashi Kanta Das from Assam took to Twitter to describe the situation, "Situation is terrible. Our constituency is low-land. All the harvest has gone and people don't have a place to live. Water levels rose so much that we can't go there; routes closed. Our party workers are working with NDRF for relief to locals."

Cachar and Hojai Remain Worst-Hit Regions

Cachar and Hojai have become the worst-hit districts, with over 1 lakh people affected in each region.

Furthermore, another ASDMA release said that all roads and railways leading to Haflong, where the district headquarters is located, have been blocked since 15 May due to landslides. After a major road gave way on the Guwahati-Haflong link on Monday, connectivity to the region was snapped.

The Indian Army has rescued some 2,000 people from Hojai, said NDTV.

Dima Hasao, one of the worst-hit regions, remains cut off. Rescue operations are underway.

Consequently, Assam's Higher Secondary Education Council decided to partially suspend the higher secondary first year (Class 11) exam scheduled for Saturday. The disruption in surface communication has led to all the examinations in the Hasao district being suspended until further notice.

(With inputs from NDTV.)