Assam Floods: 61 Dead, more than 7 lakh affected across 9 districts

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday said at least 80,000 flood-affected people were yet to receive relief materials as the flood situation remained grim in the state, with 61 people dead and over 7.05 lakh affected across nine districts.

"We are trying very hard to reach all the people with relief items, but still many are left out," Sarma said, adding that around 50,000 people in 30 per cent of Nazira constituency and 30,000 in 20 per cent of Sivasagar remained inaccessible.

The death toll rose to 61 after 14 more people died in the floods in the last 24 hours, according to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA). Charaideo recorded seven deaths, including two women, followed by six, including one woman, in Sivasagar. One person each died in Jorhat and Golaghat.

More than 7,05,100 people are affected across Charaideo, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Hojai, Jorhat, Karbi Anglong, Nagaon and Sivasagar districts.

Sivasagar is the worst-hit district, with nearly 3.5 lakh people affected, followed by Charaideo with almost 1.9 lakh and Jorhat with more than 1.3 lakh.

The flood situation has improved marginally since Thursday, when over 7.21 lakh people were affected across 11 districts.

The Dikhou river at Sivasagar, Dhansiri at Nanglamuraghat, Dhansiri at Numaligarh and Kushiyara at Sribhumi are flowing above the danger level.

Around 856 villages are under water, while 56,606.78 hectares of crop areas have been damaged. Embankments, roads, bridges and other infrastructure have also suffered damage.

The administration is operating 363 relief camps and distribution centres in seven districts, sheltering 1,15,205 displaced people.

The Army, NDRF, SDRF, Fire and Emergency Services, police and civil agencies have rescued around 1,000 people from parts of Jorhat and Sivasagar.

Flooding has also affected around 3,34,020 domestic animals and poultry across the state.