Assam continued to reel under heavy rains for the third consecutive day with two more deaths and three injured due to landslides on Wednesday and the flood situation worsened further with major rivers a in spate, official sources said.
Two children were crushed to death when a landslide triggered by heavy rains in neighbouring Meghalaya led to the wall collapse of a house in Azad Nagar of Goalpara district, taking the total death toll due to floods and landslides to 44 on Wednesday, a district official said.
The dead were identified as 11-year old Hussain Ali and eight year old Asma Khatoon. In Guwahati city, several landslides were reported with three persons injured in Ajantanagar in Noonmati area here.
Landslides leading to road blockade due to the rubble were reported in Kamakhya Nursery, Joypur in Kharguli area, Bonda Colony, South Sarania, Amayapur in Geetanagar and 12 Mile.
Heavy rains have also damaged two electric poles near Raj Bhavan here while restoration work was going on to clear the road leading to Bharat Ratna Dr Bhupen Hazarika’s residence at Nizarapar, blocked by rubbles caused by a landslide on Tuesday.
Heavy rains continued to lash across the state leading to inundation in fresh areas with 18 districts affected by floods with urban flooding reported from Kamrup Metro, Kamrup, Nalbari and Barpeta.
A total population of nearly 75,000 people have been affected by the floods in the districts Bajali, Baksa, Bongaigaon, Chirang, Darrang, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Dima Hasao, Goalpara, Hojai, Kamrup, Kamrup Metro, Lakhimpur, Majuli, Nalbari, Tamulpur and Udalguri.
The Brahmaputra and its tributaries were maintaining a rising trend and the River Manas was flowing above the danger mark in some places.
Guwahati which has come to a standstill due to continued water logging in most parts of the city for the third consecutive day with Anil Nagar, Nabin Nagae, Zoo Road, Six Mile, Noonmati, Bhootnath, Maligaon, Bamunimaidam, Rajgarh Link Road, Hatigaon, Rukimingaon, Fatasil, Gotanagar among others severely affected.
The administration of most affected districts have issued alerts urging people not to venture out of their homes unless it is urgent or there is a medical emergency.
The Deputy Commissioners of most of the Lower Assam districts have also issued directives to all educational institutions to remain closed on Thursday while some till Saturday following reports of the Regional Meteorological Centre’s warning of ”heavy to very heavy and extremely heavy rainfall in Assam and Meghalaya”.
The RMC has issued ‘Red Alert’ for Assam and Meghalaya from Tuesday to Thursday and ‘Orange Alert’ on Friday and Saturday.
The district authorities have opened seven relief camps and nine relief distribution centres. A total of 1224 persons have taken shelter in the relief camps with Kamrup Metropolitan having the highest of 677 inmates.
According to the bulletin issued by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), 13 embankments were breached while 64 roads and a bridge were also damaged due to heavy rains and flood.
