‘Water has reached our chest’: 1.7 lakh people hit by Assam floods

“It had been raining since Sunday morning, and the paddy fields around our house began getting filled with water, but we thought that it would drain away after some time once the rain stopped. But it rained through till late afternoon, and then we heard that the Dikhow river had swelled up. Within no time, the water from the river swelled over and reached our house. My cattle, chickens and chicken coop have been swept away, and my entire family, including children and old people, have been on the roof of our house since then,” said Prodip Kalita, a resident of the Nazira area in Sivasagar district, at noon on Monday, adding that the water inside their house had come up to chest level.

According to the Assam Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), the Dikhow river at Sivasagar was flowing at “extreme flood situation” as of 9 am on Monday, flowing at 2.10 metres above its “danger level” of 92.4 metres. At noon, it announced that another river, the Dhansiri at Golaghat district, was flowing in a “severe flood situation.” Three other rivers, the Burhidihing at Khowang, the Disang at Nganglamuraghat and the Brahmaputra at Neamatighat, were flowing “above danger level.”

According to the Assam Disaster Management Authority, the Dikhow river at Sivasagar was flowing at “extreme flood situation” as of 9 am on Monday, flowing at 2.10 metres above its “danger level” of 92.4 metres. (Express)

The overflowing Dikhow river has also affected railway services, with a railway official stating that water has flooded the railway tracks in the Simalguri section of Sivasagar district. As a result, two trains have been cancelled, six have been diverted, and 10 trains have been short-terminated or short-originated.

Announcing efforts to address the overflowing rivers, the Assam government said in a statement, “Sand-filled bags are being laid along the Dikhow embankment, piping at the Disang embankment in Baruahchuk is being addressed, Type-B geobags are being dumped at Santipur to restore the Disang riverbank and flood fighting works continue at the Jhanji embankment, Narkonwar Bailung Gaon.”

According to the ASDMA, as of 10 am, it estimated that 1,70,327 people were affected by floods across 580 villages in 12 districts. Intense rainfall was recorded across several parts of the state between July 18 and July 19, with parts of Sonari in Sivasagar receiving up to 197 mm of rainfall over 24 hours.

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