Flash flood affects 40,000 in Assam, Manipur counts losses | Latest News India - Hindustan Times
close_game
close_game

Flash flood affects 40,000 in Assam, Manipur counts losses

Hindustan Times, Guwahati/Imphal | ByUtpal Parashar & Sobhapati Samom
Sep 10, 2017 04:42 PM IST

The fear of another bout of floods has been looming large with Assam and other north-eastern states experiencing heavy rainfall in the last 24 hours

Flash flood struck north-central Assam in the wee hours of Sunday, less than a fortnight after the state began recovering from the second wave of deluge that claimed more than 150 human lives.

Villagers ferrying their cattle to safety on a raft made with banana plant stems from a flood-hit village in Nagaon district of Assam.(PTI File Photo)
Villagers ferrying their cattle to safety on a raft made with banana plant stems from a flood-hit village in Nagaon district of Assam.(PTI File Photo)

Officials in Sonitpur district said flash floods affected some 40,000 people while one person who was washed away reportedly drowned.

Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now.

“The water level of river Jorakhar, which originates in Arunachal Pradesh, started rising suddenly about 3am. Several areas in Balipara town and parts of a highway was under waist-deep water,” Surjya Kama Borah, circle officer of Chariduar, said.

Nearly three dozen villages in Chariduar circle were inundated too, forcing thousands to flee their homes.

Since there wasn’t heavy rainfall in the area officials attributed the flash floods to possible landslides or damage to sluice gates in neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh.

The area had witnessed similar flooding in June this year following few hours of heavy rainfall and rise in water levels of Mansiri and Jorakhar rivers.

The fear of another bout of floods has been looming large with Assam and other north-eastern states experiencing heavy rainfall in the last 24 hours. The rain in Manipur has been of lesser intensity, but officials there have begun assessing the losses of the floods in August.

Disaster management officials in Imphal said this year’s flood has pegged the state back by Rs 358.23-crore with 25 people having died and 78,677 hectares of agricultural land damaged.

Among the affected farmers is LS Ngaonii, 65, of Sorbung village in Manipur’s Senapati district. “These parts never witnessed nature’s fury of such intensity in 30-40 years,” said the farmer who produces 8,250kg of rice in favourable climatic conditions.

Sorbung, 90 km north of Imphal, had experienced heavy rainfall and mudslide on August 30.

Such has been the extent of damage that, villagers feel, it will take three-four years to rejuvenate the farmlands unless the government provides help.

Officials of the Manipur directorate of environment attributed the unusually high average rainfall to climate change. The state received 1,668.5 mm of rainfall from February-August, considerably higher than the average annual mark of 1,500mm.

Chief Minister N Biren said the state’s hills in particularly have suffered from deforestation besides conditions influenced by climate change.

Unveiling Elections 2024: The Big Picture', a fresh segment in HT's talk show 'The Interview with Kumkum Chadha', where leaders across the political spectrum discuss the upcoming general elections. Watch now!

Get Current Updates on India News, Election 2024, Mukhtar Ansari Death News Live, Bihar Board 10th Result 2024 Live along with Latest News and Top Headlines from India and around the world.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Share this article
SHARE
Story Saved
Live Score
OPEN APP
Saved Articles
Following
My Reads
Sign out
New Delhi 0C
Friday, March 29, 2024
Start 14 Days Free Trial Subscribe Now
Follow Us On