Assam Floods: Flood scene in State worsens again

 'Heavy to extremely heavy' rainfall alert for three days

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Flood waters started receding in the state, but the rains in lower Assam and Bhutan last night led to a rise in water levels in a few areas. The situation may escalate further with the forecast of heavy rainfall in the state for the next 72 hours.

The worst-affected Barpeta and Bajali districts, where people started to return to their houses from relief camps, are a confused lot. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma visited the two districts today. The local people apprised him of the resurge of the water level.

Flood water washed away the state highway connecting Pathsala and Manas, and the Brahmaputra gobbled up the Bhangnamari Sar Police Station under the Borkhetri LAC in the Nalbari district. It was a two-storey building. The police personnel had removed all documents and furniture on June 26.

Meanwhile, the Regional Meteorological Centre, Guwahati sounded alert for the next 72 hours. The centre said, 'east-west trough now runs from north-west Rajasthan to west-central Bay of Bengal off south Odisha coast across Northeast Rajasthan, north Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh and extends up to 0.9 km above mean sea level. Another secondary trough at mean sea level pressure runs from East Uttar Pradesh to Northeast Assam. Under its influence, widespread rainfall accompanied by thunderstorm/lightning/ heavy to very heavy with extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places is very likely to continue over Assam during the next 72 hours.

In the past 24 hours, floods claimed five lives – three in Cachar and each in Dhubri and Morigaon districts. The floods and landslides toll in the state rose to 139 in this flood season.

The Brahmaputra at Nematighat, Kopili at Dharamtul and the Beki at Road Bridge are flowing above the danger level today. Only the Kopili was flowing above the danger level yesterday.

According to the flood bulletin of the ASDMA, the floods affected 24,92,913 people in 2,389 villages in 28 districts in the state, while 1,76,201 people are still taking shelter in 555 relief camps. Over one lakh people are in relief camps in the Cachar district.

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