One killed in landslide, over 37,000 hit by flood in Assam

PTI

Guwahati, June 17

One person was killed in a rain-induced landslide in Assam even as the flood situation in the state deteriorated on Saturday with downpours inundating new areas in 10 districts and affecting over 37,000 people, an official bulletin said.

According to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) report, Muktar Ali was killed in a landslide in the Dhirenpara area of Kamrup Metropolitan district.

Local officials said that Ali was killed when the boundary wall of a residential complex collapsed and fell on his residence, with the debris crushing him to death.

The incident occurred when he was sleeping.

However, 37,535 people have so far been affected by the deluge, the report said.

Biswanath, Darrang, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Hojai, Lakhimpur, Nagaon, Sonitpur, Tinsukia and Udalguri are among the districts affected by the first wave of floods this year.

Till Friday, the number of flood-affected people was at 34,189 in seven districts of the state.

Lakhimpur remained the worst-hit district where 25,275 people are reeling under the deluge.

More than 3,000 people have been hit by the flood in Biswanath and Dibrugarh districts each, while another 2,000 are adversely impacted in Tinsukia, the ASDMA bulletin said.

So far, 17 relief distribution centres and two relief camps have been opened in the state.

Embankments have been breached in different places in Sonitpur, Darrang, Nagaon and Udalguri districts.

Also, damage to embankments has been caused in various locations of Dhemaji, Goalpara and Karimganj districts.

Several schools and Anganwadi centres have been submerged in different parts of the affected districts, while roads and bridges have also been overtopped by flood waters or damaged at various places, according to the official bulletin.

Erosion was reported in Biswanath, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Morigaon, Nagaon, Sivsagar, South Salmara and Udalguri districts.

A landslide was also reported in Dima Hasao district, while floods in urban areas were reported from Kamrup Metropolitan, Cachar and Nalbari districts, the ASDMA report said.

Meanwhile, Union Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya on Saturday chaired a virtual meeting with central and state agencies to review public health preparedness as part of the flood management in Assam.

He also directed the officials concerned to prepare a flood public health response and action plan with a perspective of health emergencies.

The union health minister underscored the importance of collaboration and coordination between central and state agencies to ensure effective management of flood, another official release said.

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