Assam floods: Death toll rises to 50; around 40 still missing in Nazira, says Himanta

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on July 24 said the death toll in the devastating floods that have battered Upper Assam has risen to 50, while expressing concern that the number could increase further as several people remain unaccounted for.

Addressing the media, the chief minister said the flood situation has improved marginally over the past 24 hours, but rescue operations are still underway in several inaccessible areas.

Sarma revealed that around 40 members in Nazira subdivision of Sivasagar district are still missing, raising fears that the casualty figure may rise as search operations continue.

"The flood situation has improved slightly, but we are worried as nearly 40 families in Nazira are yet to be traced. There is a possibility that the death toll may increase," he said.

The chief minister also said more than 60,000 households across the affected districts continue to remain without electricity after the floods damaged power infrastructure.

He added that nearly 20 per cent of the population in the worst-hit districts of Sivasagar, Charaideo and Jorhat remains stranded, with administrative teams yet to reach several marooned villages due to the severity of the flooding.

"Government teams have still not been able to access some of these areas because of the unprecedented flood situation. Rescue and relief operations are continuing on a war footing," Sarma said.

The chief minister further informed that an inter-ministerial team from the Central government will arrive in Assam on Saturday to assess the extent of the flood damage and review the relief and rehabilitation requirements.

The floods, triggered by intense rainfall and upstream water inflows, have inundated vast areas of Upper Assam, affecting lakhs of people, damaging infrastructure, agricultural land and public utilities. Multiple agencies, including the Army, NDRF, SDRF and state disaster response teams, are continuing rescue and relief operations across the affected districts.