Assam braces for first wave of floods

With the mighty Brahmaputra and its tributaries rising alarmingly all across Assam, the state is bracing for the first wave of floods this season.

The situation in Dhalai district of neighbouring Tripura is already bad due to a breach in a dam caused by incessant rains, reports reaching Guwahati said.

At least seven people have drowned so far and more than 200,000 hit in various places. Two children drowned in Assam and two were swept away in Tripura on Wednesday and Thursday.

Earlier in the week, three members of a family were killed in their hut in Mizoram following landslides triggered by heavy rains.

Rising waters in various rivers have hit seven of Assam's 24 districts. Large parts of Kamrup, Nalbari and other districts in lower Assam are inundated by the waters of rivers Puthimari, Beki and Manas and Pahumara. Most of the rivers are rising because of heavy rains in Bhutan, the main catchement areas for these rivers.

Army personnel are trying to provide relief to the flood affected people in Goreswar areas of Kamrup district.

A Central Water Commission bulletin said the Brahmaputra had crossed the danger level in 12 main channels, while it was flowing above the warning level in seven vulnerable areas. "The Brahmaputra is showing a rising trend all along its course and would continue to further rise in the next 24 hours," the bulletin said. "In some areas, the river is flowing up to 2.5 metres above the danger level."

Every year, floods affect at least three million people in Assam. Last year more than 150 people had died during floods.