Assam floods claim 21 lives in 24 hours, death toll rises to 31; more than 5.64 million affected people

Floods in Assam have claimed at least 21 lives and claimed 31 lives in the last 24 hours, the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said. The flood report revealed that 13 people died in Sivasagar district, five in Charaideo, two in Golaghat and one in Jorhat in the last 24 hours.

The flood situation in Assam remained grim with waters inundating 24,210.35 hectares of cropland and affecting 872 villages across 44 revenue circles.

More than 5.64 million people affected

More than 5.64 million people were affected in 16 districts including Golaghat, Kamrup, Hojai, Dibrugarh, Biswanath, Dhemaji, Sonitpur, Udalguri, Nagaon, Charaideo, Kamrup (M), Jorhat, Tinsukia, Karbi Anglong, Lakhimpur and Sivasagar, news agency ANI reported.

Sivasagar emerged as the worst affected district with over 3.59 lakh people affected, followed by Jorhat with 87,662, Charaideo with 72,646, Dibrugarh with 18,615 and Golaghat with 16,799.

More than 1.14 million people have taken shelter in 273 relief camps and relief distribution centers set up by district administrations in flood-affected areas.

Meanwhile, Indian Army, Indian Air Force, NDRF, SDRF, Police and local administration are involved in rescue and relief operations in the affected areas.

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) rescued five people from the flood-hit Seleng Ghat near Seleng Tea Estate under Teok Revenue Circle in Assam’s Jorhat district following an alert from the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) on July 19.

An NDRF team led by Inspector KB Nath under the supervision of Deputy Commandant NK Tiwari, 1st Battalion NDRF was deployed to the affected area.

A search and rescue team rescued a young girl trapped on the roof of her flooded home, a man swept away by strong currents, and three women stranded in the middle of the floodwaters.

An elderly woman was found in a critical condition after suffering severe hypothermia from prolonged exposure to cold flood water. The rescue team evacuated all five victims, provided pre-hospital treatment, especially to an elderly woman, and transported them safely to a designated center for further medical care and rehabilitation.