Flood situation remains grim in NE as death toll climbs to 44; PM Modi talks to CMs

The overall flood situation in Assam and other northeastern states remained grim on Tuesday, as the death toll in seven states of the region climbed to 44, officials said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday called the Chief Ministers of Assam and Sikkim, as well as Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla, to take stock of the flood situation in the northeastern states and offered all possible assistance in dealing with the flood menace, as well as relief and rehabilitation efforts.

According to the officials of different northeastern states, out of 44 deaths during the current spell of rain and floods since May 29, at least 17 people were killed in Assam, followed by 12 in Arunachal Pradesh, six in Meghalaya, five in Mizoram, two in Tripura and one each in Nagaland and Manipur.

Disaster management officials of the seven northeastern states, excluding Sikkim, said that the deaths were reported due to drowning, landslides, waterlogging and other calamity-related mishaps.

In Assam, according to the report of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), over 6.33 lakh people were affected by the floods and rains in 21 districts. The ASDMA report said that over 14,739 hectares of crop lands were affected in 1506 villages under 21 districts. The mighty Brahmaputra and six other rivers are flowing above the danger level at several places in Assam.

In Arunachal Pradesh, over 1,000 people are now affected by floods in 156 villages in 23 of the state’s total of 26 districts. A State’s Disaster Management official said that the Lower Subansiri district reported significant damage, with around 170 different types of houses damaged. He said that the district has also reported many infrastructure losses, including the damage of over 50 roads, 16 power lines, 25 water supply lines and two schools.

Widespread destruction has also been reported in the Itanagar Capital Region (ICR) and Pakke Kessang, where key assets such as ICR's main water pipeline and the road at Dariya Hill have been severely affected.

In Mizoram, five deaths have been reported in landslides, house collapse and other calamities triggered by heavy rains in the last 10 days. The State’s Disaster Management and Rehabilitation department official said that three Myanmar refugees died in Champhai district and one each in Aizawl and Serchhip districts due to the collapse of houses and walls caused by landslides and flash floods.

During the past 10 days, the mountainous state reported 552 landslides in several districts, while 152 houses have collapsed or have been damaged due to rain during the same period. Over 300 families have either abandoned their houses due to landslides or house damage, or have been evacuated by the authorities in view of the calamities. Of the total of 11 districts, East Mizoram's Champhai district, which shares a border with Myanmar, is the worst-affected region in the ongoing monsoon with 209 landslides and 10 houses damaged reportedly so far. The overall flood situation improved in Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland.