GUWAHATI
The third wave of floods in Assam has affected five districts since October 7, officials said on Wednesday.
The first two waves between May and July caused large-scale devastation, including the submergence of almost all of Silchar town in southern Assam’s Barak Valley.
According to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), incessant rainfall in the eastern part of the State and adjoining Arunachal Pradesh has been a major cause of concern.
The data provided by the ASDMA showed that 69,750 people of 110 villages across 11 revenue circles in five districts had been affected in the last 24 hours. No loss of human life was reported.
More than half of the total affected people are in Dhemaji district. The other flood-hit districts are Lakhimpur, Dibrugarh, Golaghat and Nagaon.
“More than 3,021 hectares of crop area have been inundated and we have opened 22 relief distribution centres,” an ASDMA spokesperson said.
Floods and rain-induced landslides had killed 197 people in Assam during the first two waves while more than 35 lakh people were displaced.
Heavy rainfall also put the areas along the Siang River in Arunachal Pradesh on high alert. Tayi Taggu, the Deputy Commissioner of East Siang district said the water level of the arterial river was rising and the people had been advised to stay away from the river and linked water bodies.
Pasighat, the district headquarters received 482 mm and 480 mm of rainfall on October 10 and 11, breaking all records of the last 25 years, officials said.
