Lakhs of people uprooted by flood in Assam

Over two lakh people have been affected by floodsin Assam caused by incessant rain this week.

According to reports, some 22 districts have been hit by the flood, taking the death toll to 13 on Tuesday.

State disaster management authorities said the Brahmaputra and its tributaries were flowing above the danger mark at many places in eastern Assam.

The floods reportedly breached several embankments and submerged thousands of hectares of cropland.

"Over 600 villages in Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Jorhat, Dibrugarh, Sivsagar, Tinsukia, Nagaon, Nalbari districts were submerged by floodwaters and the affected people took shelter on higher grounds," an official was quoted by the media, as saying.

Some one lakh people in Dhemaji alone have been affected by flood which reportedly entered scores of villages and caused severe erosion. The floods have damaged about 10,000 hectares of cropland in 15 districts.

Sources also reported that hundreds of cattles have been swept away in Salmara, Besamari and Bonoria chaporis since last night. Worst of all, Dibru Sakhowa National Park in Tinsukia district and the Kaziranga National Park in Golaghat district have been badly hit by the flood.

Meanwhile, ferry services between the northern and southern banks of the Brahmaputra have been suspended till further orders. As a result of this, the world's largest fresh water island Majuli in Assam's Jorhat district is cut off from the rest of the world.

Army personnel and Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopters are currently engaged in rescue operations in several districts. National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams, including deep divers, have also been pressed into service.

According to reports, over 30 relief camps have been set up at various locations across the affected districts.

Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi asked officials to initiate timely action to evacuate people from the vulnerable areas.

"The chief minister asked the district authorities to provide sufficient relief materials, medicines and drinking water to those affected," official sources said.