Disaster authorities is the north east Indian state of Assam say that the flood situation which began on 04 July, 2016, has now affected over 123,000 people in 190 villages.
The floods are a result of heavy monsoon rainfall in river catchment areas. By 05 July, India’s Central Water Commission (CWC) reported that the Brahmaputra River was flowing close to or above danger levels in around 16 locations in the state.
Assam State Disaster Management Agency (ASDMA) say that the flooding is currently affecting the districts of Lakhimpur, Golaghat, Morigaon, Barpeta, Jorhat, Biswanath and Sivsagar. The worst hit areas are villages in Jorhat and Golaghat.
Relief camps have been set up in Golaghat, Jorhat and Biswanath, housing around 1,800. Food, including rice, salt and dal, has been distributed, along with other supplies such as mosquito nets and tarpaulin for temporary shelters. Boats from State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) are being used to distribute relief supplies and evacuations. The Indian Army have also been involved in relief and rescue operations.
No deaths have been reported by ASDMA although local media say that one person was killed after being swept away by flood waters in Morigaon district.
ASDMA report that at least 12 roads have been flooded in Sivsagar and an embankment has failed along the Ghiladhari River at Bamungaon, Golaghat district. Over 7,500 hectares of crops have been damaged and
River levels have fallen slightly over the last 24 hours, and as of 12 July there were 12 stations with levels close to or above danger levels. ASDMA report that the Brahmaputra River is flowing above danger level at Nematighat in Jorhat, Dhubri (Dhubri district), and Numaligarh in Golaghat.
