The death toll in Assam and Bihar floods surged to 209, with over 10.6 million people affected by the deluge in the two states, officials said. In Assam, the toll reached 82. As per Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) officials, till now 1,25,000 people have been evacuated. Around 199 relief camps have been set up by the government in which over 10,00,000 people have taken shelter. A population of 21,68,000 of 1,716 villages in 56 revenue circles of Assam is affected by the calamity. Besides Barpeta, the 17 other affected districts are Dhemaji, Sonitpur, Darrang, Baksa, Nalbari, Chirang, Bongaigaon, Kokrajhar, Dhubri, Goalpara, Kamrup, Kamrup (M), Morigaon, Nagaon, Golaghat, Jorhat and Cachar, the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said.
The rivers flowing at the danger level are the Brahmaputra at Neamatighat (Jorhat) and Dhubri, the Desang at Nangamuraghat (Sivasagar), the Jia Bharali at N T Road Crossing (Sonitpur), the Puthimari at N H Road crossing (Kamrup), the Beki at Road Bridge (Barpeta) and the Kushiara at Karimganj (Karimganj), it said.
In Bihar, there was no let up in the flood situation. The deluge has affected over 85,00,000 people even though the toll remained at 127. One of the severely affected districts, Darbhanga has so far reported 12 casualties ever since Bihar was hit by flash floods earlier this month owing to torrential rainfall in Terai region of Nepal.
Altogether 13,85,000 people, in 200 panchayats of 16 blocks in the district are affected by the floods, the state disaster management department said. A total 876 personnel with 133 motor boats have been deployed for relief and rehabilitation work. The IAF has deployed two helicopters for air dropping food and other relief material while the 9th battalion of the NDRF has deployed 19 teams in the flood-affected areas.
Nitish Kumar seeks financial aid
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said his government will send a memorandum to the Centre seeking financial assistance following an assessment of the damage caused by floods in the state. "Currently, we are carrying out relief and rescue work from our own resources. The assessment of the damage caused by the floods is also being done. A memorandum will be sent to the central government, following which a team will visit the state to take stock of the situation. The Centre will provide assistance as it deems fit," Kumar said.
Weatherman warns of flash floods
Urban India faces an increasing risk of flash floods as the old pattern of evenly spread rainfall is being replaced by short bursts of extremely heavy rains, and cities are not fully equipped to deal with the deluge, the head of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), M Mohapatra said.
“Whenever it is raining, it is raining heavily. Whenever it is not raining, it is not raining at all. There is an increased number of days with heavy rainfall activity, therefore chances of flash floods are increasing,” Mohapatra said. The problem is compounded by inadequate civic infrastructure, he said. “At the same time, we have increase in population, increase in human activities, the water bodies are shrinking within the city, and so is the drainage system. We should take care of the drainage system, so that the water can easily drain out, keeping the city safe,” he said.
