Seven Assam districts affected by floods, two killed

At least seven districts of Assam have been affected as flash floods have hit the state again, affecting lakhs of people and killing two youth in Tinsukia district, officials said.

The state government has also pressed into service the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), informed sources said.

An alert was sounded in most of the affected districts as the Brahmaputra river is flowing above danger level at some points – particularly in Dibrugarh and Jorhat districts and showing a rising trend at many places.

According to officials, heavy rains in Arunachal Pradesh have led to the overflowing of many rivers located downstream, causing the floods.

Two youth – students of Doomdooma College in Tinsukia district were also drowned Thursday as they were trying to cross over a tributary of Brahmaputra, which was in spate at Dhala area in the district, sources said. The bodies are yet to be recovered.

Sources in Dispur also said that the state government has kept the air force on standby.

Many villages in Kamrup, Jorhat, Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, Dhemaji, Lakhimpur and Sonitpur districts have been submerged by the surging waters of the rivers. At least 25 villages in Kamrup district were affected due to floods.

While the Sadia and Dhala subdivision in Tinsukia remained cut off after ferry services were halted due to rising water levels of Brahmaputra river, some places in river island Majuli in Jorhat were submerged and it was also cut off from the mainland due to stoppage of ferry services.

A large portion of Kaziranga National Park has also been submerged, as well as low-lying areas of Dibru Saikhowa National Park in Tinsukia.

Official sources said that large tracts of agricultural produce have also been damaged due to the floods.