Assam flood toll rises to 82; affected population drops to 1.92 lakh

The death toll in Assam’s floods rose to 82 after two more people died, even as the number of affected people declined to 1.92 lakh, an official bulletin said on July 31.

According to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), one of the latest fatalities was reported from the Nazira revenue circle in Sivasagar district, while the other occurred in Sonari in Charaideo district.

No person was reported missing, the bulletin said.

Five districts — Sivasagar, Charaideo, Golaghat, Jorhat and Nagaon — continued to reel under the floodwaters, with 17 revenue circles and 379 villages remaining affected.

A total of 1,92,799 people were affected by the floods, with Charaideo emerging as the worst-hit district, where 77,456 people were affected. Sivasagar recorded 63,492 affected people, followed by Jorhat with 34,067.

The flood situation showed signs of improvement compared with Thursday, when more than two lakh people across eight districts were affected.

The authorities were operating 54 relief camps, providing shelter to 12,994 displaced people. Another 26 relief distribution centres were catering to 5,384 people, the ASDMA said.

Relief and rescue operations continued with the deployment of agencies, including the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF).

Floodwaters continued to affect agricultural land, with around 15,430 hectares of crop area remaining submerged. The deluge also caused damage to houses, roads and other infrastructure across the affected districts, the bulletin added.