Assam Deluge Leaves Trail of Grief: 1,040 Lives Lost to Floods Since 2014

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: Heart-rending scenes meet the eye wherever you look in the flood-devastated districts of Sivasagar, Charaideo and Jorhat. With the floodwaters rising all of a sudden from Sunday afternoon, people scrambled out of their homes to comparatively safer places with whatever they could carry, some with nothing but the clothes they were wearing. Local people said that some places had never experienced floods before, while others had done so but not of such a magnitude as this time.

Dead bodies are emerging even today, the sixth day since that dreadful Sunday, with many missing persons now accounted for. As many as 14 bodies – six in Sivasagar, seven in Charaideo and one in Jorhat – were recovered on Friday.

To make matters worse, the water level of the Dikhou River rose from last night to this morning, with floodwaters again entering the houses that were inundated earlier. However, the water level decreased by late afternoon.

A youth of a flood-affected area in Simaluguri narrated his experience to the media, saying, “Floodwaters entered our house on Sunday night. In the past two days, the floodwaters receded, and there is no longer any water inside our house. Yesterday, we entered our house and cleared it of the mud that had accumulated inside. We found that everything – from our beds to furniture and other belongings, including the fridge – was destroyed. Today, the water again entered our house, and the floodwaters are flowing with a fast current through our premises. We’re now staying in a relative’s house, but we haven’t received anything from the district administration, not even a bottle of water.”

The floods have devastated a village named Sotok Bor Mising near Simaluguri. An elderly villager said, “We old folks somehow escaped with our lives, but the floods have destroyed our house. I now don’t have a stitch to wear, except for my gamosa. We have a cow, and we kept it for a few days at somebody’s place. Now, we’re keeping it by the roadside. My house is filled with muck up to one foot or more.”

A youth of the same village recounted, “Our house was filled halfway up by floodwaters within just 10 minutes. There was such a strong current that I just rushed out wearing a gamosa and nothing else. We now don’t have any utensils or other belongings. Everything was swept away by the flood.”

Today, the dead body of a person identified as Manoj Sahu was recovered near Simaluguri.

Meanwhile, knee-high floodwaters are still inundating Station Chariali and several otherwise busy areas in Sivasagar town.

A lady belonging to Sivasagar town, now staying in a makeshift shelter on the road near Jamunanagar Chariali, alleged that neither she nor other families sheltering there have received even a bottle of water from the district administration.

Meanwhile, another dead body of a person identified as Kusheswar Mech was recovered in Nazira today after being listed as missing for three days.

Coming to the Jorhat district, Bonai Gaon in the Teok area has been inundated by the floodwaters of the Jhanji River for the past five days. People of the village are now taking shelter on the embankment of the river, along with their livestock. An aged woman said, “I have been living in this village for the last 60 years, since my marriage. I’ve never seen such severe flooding, although we’ve had floods almost every year. Floodwater entered our house in 15-20 minutes. We thought of returning home today but are afraid to do so as there’s talk of the water level going up.”

As per the evening bulletin of CWC, three rivers – Dikhou, Disang and Dhansiri – are flowing above the danger level.

1040 lives since 2014: Floods in Assam have claimed as many as 1040 lives since 2014. The figure reflects the enormity of the problem that occurs every year. It is a matter of record that, in the period between 2014 and 2026, the highest number of human deaths was reported in 2022, with 181 casualties. The state never managed to refrain from losing any lives.

As per available records, 90 people perished in 2014; 66 in 2015; 64 in 2016; 160 in 2017; 45 in 2018; 100 in 2019; 124 in 2020; 8 in 2021; 181 in 2022; 18 in 2023; 110 in 2024; 27 in 2025; and 47 this year, until this morning.

For the past few decades, many organisations, including the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU), have been demanding that the central government declare Assam’s flood and erosion problem a national one. Of late, Sivasagar MLA Akhil Gogoi again raised the issue after the deluge that has hit the state this year. With the devastation caused by floods every year, the Centre ought to give special attention to the issue.

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