Guwahati: At least 31 people have died and over 100 reported missing in the last 24 hours, authorities said this week, as Assam’s flood situation turned catastrophic with eight lakh people affected across 16 districts, raising the overall toll this monsoon season to over 50.
Three Assam districts bordering Nagaland — Sivasagar, Charaideo and Jorhat — bore the brunt of the floods after a cloudburst in the neighboring state on Sunday coupled with incessant rain caused rivers to overflow and inundate vast stretches of these three districts.
According to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), 20 people, including four women and two children, drowned in Sivasagar district alone in last 24 hours. Charaideo reported five deaths, including two children, while two people died in Golaghat and one woman lost her life in Jorhat.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who toured the worst-hit districts described the disaster as “unprecedented”.
“A cloudburst triggered exceptionally heavy rainfall in the upstream states of Arunachal Pradesh & Nagaland, with precipitation of 141% and 181?ove normal, respectively. The resulting unprecedented discharge of floodwaters into Assam has inundated districts that have witnessed little to no flooding in recent history,” Sarma wrote on X.
He said the full extent of the damage was yet to be assessed as several inundated areas remained inaccessible. “So far we have received reports of about 100 people missing in Sivasagar district,” he said.
With the weather department forecasting thunderstorms, lightning and heavy rain at isolated places over the next four days, the state administration has moved to speed up repairs, keep relief supplies flowing and strengthen coordination as flooding continues across Assam.
