Parts of Assam are reeling under the state’s first phase of flooding this year, with around 34,189 people affected so far, officials said. The monsoon hit Assam on June 10; the weather department recorded an average rainfall of 41 mm in 24 hours as of Friday morning. The IMD has predicted moderate rainfall over the next five days, with heavy to very heavy rainfall likely at isolated places. The worst-affected district so far is Lakhimpur in Upper Assam where water gushed into villages Wednesday after the Singra river breached an embankment at Chamua Gaon and a riverside bund at Philbari Basti. In Lakhimpur, 22 villages, 23,516 people and 21.87 hectares of crops have been affected. However, with this year’s floods just at an incipient stage, the government has so far set up only one relief camp — in Udalguri district. , while 10 relief distribution centres have come up, mostly in Lakhimpur. “Relief measures have been taken by providing food items like rice, dal, oil, baby food etc as well as other important items like sanitary napkins, cattle feed etc… In addition to this, halogen tablets and water pouches have also been distributed by the Public Health Engineering department. Medical teams have also been deployed in flood affected areas by the health department,” said Lakhimpur Deputy Commission Sumit Sattawan. Although none of the rivers in the state is flowing above the danger level, the Central Water Commission has warned Puthimari and Brahmaputra are facing a severe flood situation in Kamrup and Jorhat and are flowing above warning levels. With heavy rainfall predicted over the next two days in Kokrajhar, Chirang, Baska, Dalguri, Bongaigaon, Barpeta, Nalbari, Darrang, Dhemaji and Lakhimpur, Brahmaputra and its tributaries, and Barak river, are expected to swell, the Commission warned.
