Flood situation in Assam remains grim, 3.6 lakh affected

Assam remained in the grip of a swelling flood crisis on Tuesday, with more than 3.6 lakh people affected across several districts as relentless waters disrupted daily life and triggered large-scale rescue and relief operations.

Multiple agencies, including the Army, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and emergency services, joined hands to reach communities cut off by the rising waters.

Train services in parts of Upper Assam remained disrupted for the second consecutive day as floodwaters submerged railway tracks. The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) cancelled, diverted and short-terminated several trains, while special services were introduced to help stranded passengers.

Sivasagar emerged as the worst-hit district, with nearly 1.58 lakh people affected. The Dikhow River breached the “extreme flood level”, according to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), raising fresh concerns among residents living along its banks.

Across 11 districts, authorities have opened 101 relief camps and distribution centres, providing shelter to more than 9,600 displaced people. The ASDMA urged residents to remain cautious and avoid riverbanks as water levels continued to rise.

Floodwaters spread across roads, embankments and low-lying areas as several major rivers in the state continued to flow in spate. The affected districts include Biswanath, Cachar, Charaideo, Chirang, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Jorhat, Kamrup, Kamrup Metropolitan, Karbi Anglong, Nagaon, Sivasagar, Tinsukia and Udalguri.

The death toll in this year’s floods has climbed to 10, while two people remain missing in Charaideo and Karbi Anglong districts.

In Upper Assam, army personnel have been deployed to bolster rescue efforts alongside disaster response teams and local authorities. Chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said cabinet ministers have been stationed in affected districts to oversee relief measures, while elected representatives have been directed to remain present on the ground.

The flood fury has also disrupted rail connectivity. The NFR suspended train movement on the Simaluguri-Namtiali and Simaluguri-Selenghat sections in Sivasagar district due to severe flooding around Simaluguri town.

To ease the hardship of stranded travellers, the railway authorities have introduced additional special trains, which will continue until Friday. Some regular express services between Mariani and Guwahati have also resumed operations, officials said.

With PTI inputs