Assam flood situation further deteriorates, 69,750 hit in 5 districts

Guwahati, Oct 12 (IANS) The flood situation in Assam further deteriorated on Wednesday with over 69,750 people badly hit in 110 villages of five districts, officials said.

Officials of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said that the third wave of floods in the current pre-monsoon and monsoon period (May to October) was triggered by incessant rain since Monday in neighboring Arunachal Pradesh and in five districts of Assam -- Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Lakhimpur, Golaghat and Nagaon.

Though no report of loss of human life has been reported yet, the flood water inundated 3,021.40 hectares crop area.

ASDMA officials said that 22 relief distribution centres were opened to provide relief materials to the affected people, including 15,582 children.The flood also affected 34, 827 domestic animals including 6,024 poultry birds.

The officials said that several embankments have been damaged, while roads in Lakhimpur and Dhemaji have been badly affected.

In the first wave, Assam, like previous years, had witnessed one of the worst deluges in May-June this year, with floods and landslides claiming lives of around 200 people.

Meanwhile, the Regional Meteorological Centre in Guwahati, predicted that rain with thunderstorms and lightning is likely to occur in various places in 21 districts during the next two days.

The Brahmaputra river, which flows from neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh, is flowing above the danger level at Nematighat in Jorhat district.