Assam: First wave of floods have hit the state; surface communication snapped

GUWAHATI, June 14, 2018: The first wave of floods to have hit Assam over the past 24 hours has affected thousands of people and snapped surface communication with Meghalaya and Mizoram at several places.

The Assam State Disaster Management Authority said six districts – Biswanath, Karbi Anglong East, Karbi Anglong West, Golaghat, Karimganj and Hailakandi – have been affected by flood in the past 24 hours. Across the state, 10,710 relief camps have been set up and altogether 1,48,912 people and 1,127.72 hectares of crop area have been affected, it added.

The situation is unlikely to improve in a hurry with the Guwahati-based regional meteorological centre warning of heavy rain in Assam and the Northeast in the next 24 hours. The condition is likely to continue till June 17.

Last year, Assam suffered its worst floods in over three decades, affecting 25.42 lakh people and claiming 82 lives in 29 of the 33 districts of the state.

Owing to incessant rain during the past few days, the water level of the Barak and all its tributaries is increasing rapidly, snapping surface communication between Barak Valley and Meghalaya because of a landslide in Sonapur at National Highway 44 in Meghalaya, 80km from Hailakandi on Tuesday night.

Thousands of vehicles remain stranded on both sides.

Road communication to Mizoram via Hailakandi district has also been disrupted owing to the submerged National Highway 6 at Lalpani. The Dwarbod PWD road, which also connects Hailakandi with Silchar, has snapped after the roads were submerged at Matijuri village.

Villagers have taken shelter after embankments were breached at Tasla and Nimaichandpur in Hailakandi district.

Karimganj additional deputy commissioner D. Deb said many areas, particularly in Patherkandi constituency, had been affected. A total of 26 relief camps have been opened in the district and rescue operations were on, he said.

In the Brahmaputra Valley, National Highway 37, which serves as a lifeline between Upper and lower Assam, was cut off for nearly seven hours on Wednesday due to the flash floods that submerged Lotabari of Bokakhat town in Golaghat district. The movement of vehicular traffic has been restricted from 9am as the flood waters caused severe damage to the Lotabari bridge over Diphlu river.

A 700-metre stretch of the national highway has been under water, leaving thousands of vehicles stranded on both sides.

However, as the water receded by evening, movement of vehicles was allowed. No casualties were reported.

"Due to the incessant rainfall, the water level of the Diphlu and Kohora rose, causing Wednesday's flood. The recorded rainfall is 258.75mm which is very high. The rescue operations are carried out by SDRF personnel and a 30-member team of NDRF from Jorhat has also been rushed to the flood-affected area," said Rony Rajkumar, the project officer of the District Disaster Management Authority.

Source, Image Courtesy: The Telegraph