Flood situation grim as more heavy rains forecast in Assam

GUWAHATI: The flood situation remained critical in Assam on Wednesday morning following overnight rain at many places with more than 34,000 people inundated in nine districts of the state, an official said.

The Government of Bhutan and the India Meteorological Department have forecast heavy to very heavy rains in the upper catchment areas over the next few days, which may result in rising water levels in the Brahmaputra and its tributaries.
The Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said the Royal Government of Bhutan has issued a weather advisory stating that isolated areas of the country are likely to experience light to moderate rain over the next 2-3 days. Cloudy weather may occur, which could potentially lead to surges. Water level in Brahmaputra and its tributaries
The agency added that incessant rains in both the upper catchment areas of Bhutan and Assam, as well as the release of water from the Kurichhu Dam in the neighboring country, have led to rising water levels and flooding in the western part of the state.
The India Meteorological Department also issued a ‘red alert’ and predicted ‘very heavy’ to ‘very heavy’ rainfall in several districts of Assam in the next few days.

IMD’s Regional Meteorological Center (RMC) in Guwahati has issued a ‘Red Alert’ for 24 hours from Tuesday, followed by an ‘Orange Alert’ for Wednesday and a ‘Yellow Alert’ for Thursday.
‘Red Alert’ means to take immediate action, while ‘Orange Alert’ means to be prepared for action and ‘Yellow Alert’ means to watch and update.
According to ASDMA’s daily flood report, around 34,100 people have been affected by floods in Baksa, Barpeta, Darrang, Dibrugarh, Kokrajhar, Lakhimpur, Nalbari, Sonitpur and Udalguri districts.
It added that Lakhimpur has been the most affected with over 22,000 people affected, followed by Dibrugarh with around 3,900 people and Kokrajhar with over 2,700 people.

The administration is running a relief camp in Kokrajhar, where 56 people have taken shelter, and 24 relief distribution centers in four districts.
ASDMA said that 523 villages are currently under water and 5,842.78 hectares of crop area has been damaged in Assam.

ASDMA said extensive erosion was observed in Barpeta, Sonitpur, Bongaigaon, Dhubri, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Kamrup, Morigaon, Nalbari, Sivasagar and Udalguri.
Landslides due to heavy rain have been reported at places in Cachar, Dima Hasao and Karimganj.
Embankments, roads, bridges and other infrastructure have been damaged by flood water in Udalguri, Sonitpur, Darrang, Bongaigaon, Chirang, Dhubri, Goalpara, Kamrup, Karimganj, Kokrajhar, Nagaon, Nalbari and Barpeta.
Durang, Jorhat, Kamrup Metropolitan, Kokrajhar and Nalbari districts along with urban areas were inundated.

No river is currently flowing above the danger mark.