Assam flood crisis deepens: Toll at 97, 481 villages inundated

The flood situation in Assam remained grim on Thursday as two more people died, taking this year's toll to 97, while the number of affected people rose to over 1.68 lakh across 15 districts, according to an official bulletin.

The Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said one death each was reported from Golaghat and Udalguri districts during the last 24 hours.

According to the authority's daily flood report, more than 1.68 lakh people are currently affected in Golaghat, Sivasagar, Udalguri, Kamrup Metropolitan, Nagaon, Kamrup, Darrang, Sonitpur, Hojai, Lakhimpur, Biswanath, Jorhat, Charaideo, Karbi Anglong and Dhemaji districts.

Golaghat is the worst-affected district with around 54,000 people hit, followed by Sivasagar with over 49,000 affected and Jorhat with around 27,000.

The number of affected people has increased from around 1.6 lakh across 14 districts on Wednesday.

The ASDMA said 133 relief camps and relief distribution centres are currently operational in six districts, giving shelter and assistance to around 45,000 displaced people.

A total of 481 villages remain inundated, while floodwaters have damaged 14,382.26 hectares of crop area across the state, the ASDMA said.

The Dhansiri river continued to flow above the danger level at Numaligarh, the bulletin said.

Floodwaters have also damaged embankments, roads, bridges and other public infrastructure in several districts.

The deluge has affected 41,475 domestic animals and poultry across the state, the ASDMA said.