Heavy rains kill 93, affect 2.8 million in India’s northeast

New Delhi, Jul 23 (efe-epa).- Torrential monsoon rains, that have been lashing India’s northeast for weeks, have killed at least 93 people and affected 2.8 million residents, official sources said on Thursday.

With four more deaths being registered within the last 24 hours, the death toll maintained by the Assam Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) since late May – when the first heavy downpour took place – has climbed to 93.

According to the latest bulletin of the provincial authority, the majority of the victims lost their lives due to floods, while around 20 were killed in landslides.

“So far we have at least 25 districts in the state seriously affected by the floods,” Mandira Bura Gohain – an official at the ASDMA’s climate change office – told EFE, adding that a large number of people had been displaced due the inundation.

Amid social distancing and lockdown measures, the state has set up 456 relief camps, where more than 47,000 people have taken shelter.

Gohain said that the situation was under control and the shelters were complying with measures enforced by health authorities.

The rains, usual for this time of the year, have affected more than 2.8 million residents of the mainly agricultural region, where 2,634 villages have been flooded and around 119,000 hectares (nearly 300,000 acres) of farmland has been submerged.

“This is the second wave of floods, and we are still waiting for the third. (…) This is a period of floods that continues from April to October, it is difficult to say what will be the severity of the situation,” the ASDMA official said.

Roads have been cut off and buildings collapsed in many of the affected districts, while several bridges have also been washed away.

At least 152 of the total 223 camps of the state’s Kaziranga National Park – home to the rare one-horned rhino – have been flooded and 123 animals have been killed in the nature reserve. EFE-EPA

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