10 killed, thousands displaced in northeast floods
September 12th, 2010 - 1:26 pm ICT by IANSGuwahati/Itanagar, Sep 12 (IANS) Ten people were killed and about 300,000 displaced in flash floods and landslides triggered by heavy rains in the northeastern states of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, officials said Sunday.
Heavy rains triggered mudslides and flooding in at least three districts of Arunachal Pradesh, washing away bridges, huts and school buildings, besides devastating agriculture crops, a government spokesperson said.
“The devastation caused by the floods and landslides has been extensive with eight people already killed in incidents of house collapse due to landslides, besides snapping road links in many areas,” Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu told IANS.
The casualties were reported early Saturday in Mosing village in Upper Siang district bordering China, where several houses were buried under mounds of earth following landslides.
“We have sounded a maximum alert to prevent casualties and also to help those hit by the disaster,” the chief minister said.
In adjoining Assam, two people were killed in the past three days of flooding in which about 300,000 people were displaced spread over 250 villages in the four districts of Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Golaghat and Bongaigaon.
“The situation is still very critical, although we have already alerted all our agencies,” Assam Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Bhumidhar Barman said.
A vast stretch of the famed Kaziranga National Park has been inundated, leaving at least one rhino calf and two deer dead.
“Most of the animals are moving to highlands to escape the fury of the floods,” a park warden said.
“We have sounded maximum alert and kept disaster management teams on standby. We are also taking stock of essentials and other commodities in the district,” the Assam minister said.
The 2,906 km-long Brahmaputra is one of Asia’s largest rivers and traverses its first stretch of 1,625 km in China’s Tibet region, the next 918 km in India and the remaining 363 km through neighbouring Bangladesh before flowing into the Bay of Bengal.
- Brahmaputra crosses danger mark, Assam flood situation critical - Sep 14, 2010
- Assam floods displace 50,000 people - Apr 22, 2010
- 100,000 displaced by floods in Assam, 100 villages hit - Apr 23, 2010
- One killed, thousands displaced in Assam floods - Sep 10, 2010
- 50,000 displaced in Assam floods - Aug 21, 2010
- Sixteen dead, 50,000 displaced as rains lash northeast (Roundup) - Apr 22, 2010
- First wave of floods hit Assam - Mar 25, 2010
- Thousands displaced in Assam flash floods - Aug 15, 2011
- Flood waters recede in Assam, thousands homeless - Sep 16, 2010
- Flood alert in Assam, 75,000 displaced - Jul 19, 2011
- Floods wreak havoc in Assam, 200,000 displaced - Jul 03, 2009
- Nine lakh displaced in Assam flood havoc - Aug 24, 2011
- Rains, floods kill 115 in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand - Aug 19, 2011
- Death toll mounts to 16 in Arunachal landslides - Jun 15, 2008
- Five killed, 4,000 houses flattened in Assam thunderstorm (Lead) - Apr 25, 2010
Tags: agriculture crops, arunachal pradesh, assam, brahmaputra, chief minister, disaster management, flash floods, government spokesperson, heavy rains, kaziranga national park, landslides, management teams, maximum alert, northeastern states, park warden, rhino calf, several houses, taking stock, tibet region, two deer