Thaindian News

Guwahati, Aug 24 (IANS) Flash floods triggered by heavy rains continue to wreak havoc in Assam, with an estimated 900,000 people displaced and nine dead so far, officials said Wednesday.

A government bulletin said 12 of the 27 districts of Assam have been affected by floods, the eastern districts of Dhemaji and Lakhimpur being the worst affected.

“So far, 9,11,080 people have been affected by the floods in 12 districts and 43 embankments breached,” the government statement said.

At least nine people have been swept away by the floods in the past one week, seven of them in Dhemaji district.

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

An estimated 250,000 people are now displaced in Lakhimpur and Dhemaji, about 400 km east of Assam’s main city of Guwahati.

“Most of the flood-hit people are now taking shelter on raised platforms, railway tracks, and in government schools and offices,” a government spokesperson said.

Torrents of flood waters have breached at least four vital mud embankments in eastern Assam, besides snapping road links. National Highway 52 in eastern Assam has been severely affected.

A vast stretch of the Kaziranga National Park has come under water, forcing forest guards to move out of the sanctuary and making animals run for safety.

“We are taking all possible measures to mitigate the woes of the flood-affected people,” Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi told IANS.