Assam Floods: Around 15 Lakh People Affected In State's 21 Districts; Death Toll Rises To 33

The ongoing wave of floods in Assam, triggered by the monsoon rains, claimed six more lives on Wednesday, taking the death toll to 33, besides affecting around 15 lakh people in 21 of the state's 33 districts, officials said.

The Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) officials said that in the current wave of floods since early last week, 18 persons have died in Dhubri, Nagaon, Nalbari, Barpeta, Dhemaji, Udalguri, Goalpara and Dibrugarh districts, taking the state's death toll to 33, while 24 people have been killed in separate landslides since 22 May.

The flood situation has slightly improved in Kamrup (Metro), Udalguri, Majuli and West Karbi Anglong districts.

An official of the ASDMA said that the flood-hit districts are -- Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Biswanath, Chirang, Darrang, Nalbari, Barpeta, Kokrajhar, Dhubri, Nagaon, Golaghat, Jorhat, Sivasagar, Dibrugarh, Bongaigaon, South Salmara, Goalpara, Kamrup, Morigaon, Hojai and Tinsukia.

"Around 15 lakh people in 2,197 villages were distressed by the floods and over 87,018 hectares of crop areas were severely affected due to the floods. Around 25,461 people, including women and children, took shelter in 254 relief camps," an ASDMA official said.

The National Disaster Response Force, Assam State Disaster Response Force personnel, along with the local administrations, are continuously working to rescue the affected people and rendering relief services, including distribution of relief material to the marooned villagers.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)