At least 21 people have lost their lives in the last 24 hours as the flood situation in the Indian state of Assam continues to deteriorate, according to a late-night bulletin issued by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA).
The latest fatalities have pushed the total death toll from this year’s floods in the state to 31, reports NDTV.
The Sivasagar district has been identified as the worst-hit area, reporting 13 deaths within the last 24-hour period. This was followed by five fatalities in Charaideo, two in Golaghat, and one in Jorhat.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced that he will be visiting the worst-affected districts starting Wednesday to review ongoing relief and rescue operations.
In a social media post, the chief minister noted that the recent floods were caused by a cloudburst upstream, which has brought “immense hardship” to the people.
His itinerary includes visits to relief camps and flood-hit areas in Charaideo, Nazira, Sivasagar, Sonari, Jorhat, and Teok.
The scale of the deluge has expanded significantly, with the ASDMA reporting that over 564,600 people are now affected across 16 districts.
This is a sharp increase from the 3.63 lakh people reported affected in 15 districts on Monday. The currently affected districts include Golaghat, Kamrup, Hojai, Dibrugarh, Biswanath, Dhemaji, Sonitpur, Udalguri, Nagaon, Charaideo, Kamrup (Metro), Jorhat, Tinsukia, Karbi Anglong, Lakhimpur, and Sivasagar.
Data from the bulletin indicates that 872 villages across 44 revenue circles remain inundated. Sivasagar remains the most impacted district with 359,535 people affected, followed by 87,662 in Jorhat and 72,646 in Charaideo.
To assist those displaced by the rising waters, authorities have operationalised 71 relief camps currently housing 12,284 people, alongside 202 relief distribution centres.
