Assam flood situation worsens, 44 dead, 17 lakh people affected; PM Narendra Modi, CM Sonowal assure all help

Guwahati: With the flood situation worsening in Assam, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal onWednesday reviewed the overall flood scenario of Biswanath, Sonitpur, Karbi Anglong, Golaghat and Nagaon with senior officials.

Sonawal said his government was ready to extend as much possible assistance to the flood-affected people.

Meanwhile the authorities have shifted the locals in Golaghat to safer places after massive inundation in Assam following incessant rains causing floods.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was given an in-depth review of the flood situation in the Northeast during Pragati meeting.

"I am anguished by the situation arising due to floods in various parts of the Northeast. I share the pain of all those affected by floods," PM Modi tweeted.

"The entire nation stands with the people of Northeast during this time. Centre assures all possible help to normalise the situation," the PM further said.

The flood situation has taken a critical turn in Assam, affecting over 17 lakh people in 24 districts and taking the death toll to 44.

The mighty Brahmaputra river and its tributaries have submerged 2,500 villages, destroyed 1.06 lakh hectares of crop-land, damaged infrastructure by breaching the embankments and overrunning roads and bridges, thereby disrupting surface communication, said the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA).

The flood-hit districts are Lakhimpur, Bongaigaon, Darrang, Jorhat, Golaghat, Cachar, Dhemaji, Biswanath, Karimganj, Sonitpur, Majuli, Barpeta, Nagaon, Nalbari, Sivasagar, Morigaon, Chirang, Dibrugarh, Dhubri, Kokrajhar, South Salmara, Charaideo, Goalpara and Karbi Anglong.

Nearly 75 percent of the Kaziranga National Park (KNP), a World Heritage Site, was inundated, leading to the drowning of two female hog deer and one male swamp deer in the northern range of the park.