Thaindian News

Guwahati, April 23 (IANS) Flash floods triggered by heavy rains in Assam have displaced more than 100,000 people in an estimated 100 villages in Lakhimpur district, officials said Friday.
“The situation is critical with up to 50 more villages hit by flash floods overnight (Thursday),” a district official said.

An estimated 100,000 people are now displaced in the district, about 400 km east of Assam’s main city Guwahati.

“Most of the flood-hit people are now taking shelter on raised platforms and railway tracks and in government schools and offices so far untouched by the floods,” the official said.

A large number of mud houses have also been destroyed, he said.

A Central Water Commission bulletin said the Brahmaputra and its tributaries were flowing above the danger mark in at least six places.

“Floodwaters had breached at least three vital mud embankments, compounding the miseries of the people,” the official said.

This is the second wave of floods in Assam this year. The first hit the same district last month although the magnitude was not devastating.

There are no reports of any casualties so far.

“We have sounded a maximum alert and have already kept disaster management teams on standby. We are also taking stock of essentials and other commodities in the district,” the official added.

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.

Every year, floods leave a trail of destruction, washing away villages, submerging paddy fields and drowning livestock, besides causing loss of human life and property in Assam.

In 2004, more than 200 people were killed in floods in the state.