Assam: No respite for people in first wave of floods, Kopili River threat to Kampur; death toll 6

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: There is no respite from the first wave of the floods for the people of Assam. A river embankment in Sipajhar of the Darrang district was breached last night. Several rivers, including the Brahmaputra, are flowing above the danger mark. In the past 24 hours, Panbari in the Dhubri district received the highest amount of rainfall, with 8 cm of rainfall recorded. In the same period of time, one more death was reported from the Hojai district, raising the toll in floods to 6.

According to the report of the Central Water Commission (CWC) in the morning today, the water level of the Brahmaputra at Dibrugarh is now below the danger level, but the river is flowing above the danger mark at Neamatighat in Jorhat and Tezpur in the Sonitpur district. At Guwahati, the water level of the Brahmaputra is flowing in between the warning and danger levels. The mighty Brahmaputra River is showing a rising trend in the stretch from Tezpur to Dhubri.

Among the other rivers flowing above the danger level are the Subansiri River at Badatighat in the Lakhimpur district, the Buridihing River at Chenimari (Khowang) in Dibrugarh district, the Dhansiri River in the Golaghat district, and the Kopili River at Kampur in Nagaon and Dharamtul in the Morigaon district.

The CWC report also issued a flood advisory regarding River Kopili in the Brahmaputra basin at Dharamtul in Morigaon district and Kampur in Nagaon district, as it continues to flow in a ‘Severe Situation’ at 2 pm today. River Kopili at Kampur is “flowing at a level of 61.97 m with Steady (0.0 mm/hr) trend, which is 1.47 m above its Danger Level of 60.5 m and 0.23 m below its HFL of 62.2 m (18-06-2022)”. In CWC reports, “HFL” stands for Highest Flood Level. This refers to the highest recorded water level in a river or stream, which is used as a benchmark for flood severity and forecasting. When a river’s water level reaches or exceeds the HFL, it indicates an extreme flood situation. Here, River Kopili at Kampur reached its HFL of 62.2 m on June 18, 2022.

The state government was constructing an embankment to protect the Gorukhuti Multi-Purpose Agriculture Project at Sipajhar. A 200m stretch of this embankment was breached last night, sources said.

According to the flood report issued by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) this evening, 65 revenue circles in 22 districts of the state are still reeling from the floods. A total population of 5.15 lakh in 1254 villages has been affected till now. Also, that a total of 165 relief camps have been set up, with more than 31,000 people taking shelter in these camps. Urban flooding has also affected 2 districts, including Kamrup (Metro) district, and over 21,000 people have been hit.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) also issued a warning for Hailakandi & Sribhumi districts for June 3, wherein it is stated, “Heavy (7-11 cm in 24 hrs) to Very Heavy rain (12-20 cm in 24 hrs) is very likely to occur at isolated places over the districts of Hailakandi & Sribhumi accompanied by Thunderstorm with Lightning & Gusty wind speeds of 30-40 kmph”.

Also Read: Assam: Flood situation worsens in Nagaon district

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