Photo Courtesy: India Today Group
Guwahati: Devastating floods have claimed 31 lives across Assam after a cloudburst triggered massive inundation. The state disaster management authority confirmed 21 deaths occurred in a single day, marking one of the deadliest surges in years. Sivasagar, Charaideo, and Jorhat remain the hardest-hit areas. Waters have now submerged 872 villages and over 24,000 hectares of cropland.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma visited the wreckage in Sivasagar and Charaideo to oversee rescue operations. He announced a 4 lakh rupee ex gratia payment for the families of the deceased. During his visit, the Chief Minister admitted the scale of the crisis had overwhelmed local response. "There is no road or any mode of communication to reach people who remain stranded in their homes. The administration accepts that we have not been able to reach many places. As floodwaters recede, we will be able to access such localities. We are trying our best to reduce people's difficulties," Sarma said.
More than 5.65 lakh people are affected across 16 districts, including Biswanath, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Kamrup, Karbi Anglong, Nagaon, and Tinsukia. Over 12,000 residents are sheltering in 71 official relief camps. Relief distribution centers are currently serving more than one lakh people. Joint teams from the Army, NDRF, SDRF, and local police have evacuated over 6,000 residents so far.
The Brahmaputra, Dikhow, and Disang rivers continue to flow above danger marks. Sivasagar MLA Akhil Gogoi has pushed for the disaster to be classified as a national emergency to secure more federal funding. Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi also visited flooded regions in Jorhat to coordinate aid efforts. Officials have distributed over 5,000 quintals of rice and thousands of liters of mustard oil to displaced families. Meteorological experts issued a yellow alert for the coming days as heavy rain continues to lash the region.
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