Guwahati: Even as rainfall has subsided across most parts of the Northeast over the past 48 hours and the number of flood-hit districts in Assam has dropped, floodwaters continued to inundate fresh areas in parts of northern and upper Assam with the number of affected people crossed 48,000 by Wednesday evening.According to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), 48,452 people remained affected by the current wave of floods in the state, while more than 2,000 hectares of cropland continued to remain submerged. The situation improved marginally in the worst-hit Dhemaji district, where the affected population declined from 45,841 on Tuesday to 44,219 on Wednesday. However, the number of flood-affected people increased in Biswanath and Dibrugarh districts.In Dibrugarh, the affected population rose sharply from 989 on Tuesday evening to 3,857 by Wednesday.ASDMA said floods continued to affect four districts—Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Biswanath and Nalbari. A total of 179 villages across seven revenue circles remained inundated, while 13 relief camps and relief distribution centres were operational.The floods have also severely impacted livestock, with more than 82,000 animals and poultry affected, the ASDMA report said.Dhemaji remained the worst-hit district, with 173 villages across four revenue circles under floodwaters. More than 150 people were staying in relief camps in Dhemaji district. The Jonai revenue circle along the Arunachal Pradesh border was the worst affected, with 73 villages inundated. NDRF and SDRF teams continued rescue operations, evacuating around 700 people by boat to safer locations in Dhemaji since Tuesday evening.According to the Central Water Commission’s report on Wednesday morning, the Brahmaputra was flowing above the danger mark at Neamatighat in Jorhat.The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said several places in Morigaon and Lakhimpur districts received heavy rainfall of 7–8 cm during the last 24 hours. It has forecast heavy rainfall at isolated places in Meghalaya, Manipur and Tripura on Thursday.State Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Keshab Mahanta on Wednesday reviewed the flood situation and damage with senior officials at Janata Bhawan in Guwahati. “In today’s meeting, special emphasis was placed on discussing the destruction caused by the floods across various locations in the Jonai and Sissiborgaon revenue circles of Dhemaji district,” Mahanta said in a social media post.He added that extensive state-wide preparations have been undertaken in coordination with all relevant departments to tackle possible floods, landslides and lightning-related disasters.
