The flood situation is getting worse in Assam with continuous rain. As of May 17, nearly 2 lakh people in 20 districts of Assam have been affected by floods.
So far, seven people have lost their lives, as per Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA). Two persons drowned while five others have been killed in landslides – four in Dima Hasao and one in Lakhimpur.
With massive landslides which disrupted the rail and road links completely, the hill district of Dima Hasao has been cut off from the rest of the state.
Around 1,97,248 people have been affected by the deluge in the last 24 hours. The rainfall in the last 24 hours was recorded to be 47.1 mm in Assam.
The 20 affected districts include Bajali, Baksa, Biswanath, Cachar, Charaideo, Darrang, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Dima-Hasao, Hojai, Kamrup, Karbi Anglong, West Kokrajhar, Lakhimpur, Majuli, Nagaon, Nalbari, Sonitpur, Tamulpur and Udalguri.
Notably, the Kopili river (at Kampur and Nagaon), the Barak river (at AP Ghat and Cachar), and the Kushiyara (at Karimganj) are flowing above the danger level as per the latest report of the Central Water Commission bulletin.
Additionally, 16,645.61 hectares of crop area have been damaged due to the flood, along with 2,737 houses that are fully or partially damaged.
Around 72 relief camps have been opened in seven districts, sheltering 33,248 people. Another 27 relief distribution centres are also operational in different affected districts.
National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), and Fire and Emergency Services, besides locals, have been carrying out rescue operations in the flood-hit areas.
Embankments have been breached at 16 locations in different districts in the last 24 hours.
Timely action by NF Railway has led to successful evacuation of all passengers of train no. 15616 stranded at Ditokcherra. The last spl train left KM 135 evacuating 180 passengers from here. Salute to all unsung heroes working day & night in this difficult situation @RailMinIndia pic.twitter.com/ErzhiP9rO7
— Northeast Frontier Railway (@RailNf) May 16, 2022
Roads, bridges and houses have been completed or partially damaged in several areas.
Communication channels have also been snapped in Dima Hasao.
“Due to landslides, the district cannot be approached from outside. All roads and railways leading to Haflong are blocked since May 15,” the ASDMA bulletin said.
A Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) release in Guwahati said the evacuation of about 2,800 passengers of two trains, which were stranded along the Lumding- Badarpur section in Dima Hasao for the last two days due to landslides and waterlogging on tracks, was completed on May 16.
Many passengers were airlifted by the Indian Air Force even as incessant rain impeded rescue operations which were underway since May 14, it said.
“Having rescued and evacuated all the passengers, the Railways is now putting its efforts in restoring the damaged line and re-starting the train services to South Assam, Manipur, Tripura and Mizoram,” it said.
The New Haflong Railway Station is completely inundated with debris and an empty passenger train standing at the station has been washed off the tracks due to a massive landslide, it said.
Around 18 trains have been cancelled and more than 10 short-terminated as work for the restoration of the damaged railway tracks is underway despite the rain.
