Floods in Northeast India have now claimed over 70 people, rendering tens of thousands more homeless. Those who managed to escape with their lives are now taking refuge in makeshift relief camps.

The Morung Express from Nagaland had this to say on the scope of the physical devastation in Assam in the aftermath of the floods.
(In Assam) "Over 42 lakh people of the state have been affected during the three waves of floods while 4,446 villages have been hit. A total of 54,088 houses have been fully damaged while 82,095 houses are partially damaged," said officials of the revenue and disaster management.

Meanwhile in Meghalaya, which has been similarly hurt, the extent of the damage from the flooding and landslides is only now being estimated. As the waters slowly recede, they are revealing the bodies of those who could not reach safety in time. Officials expect the body count to rise.

The region’s educational infrastructure, in particular, has suffered immensely. As The Sentinel explains, just weeks away from exams, thousands of students have found themselves without their schoolbooks or uniforms. Students have taken to rummaging through the ruins of their homes or belongings, hoping to retrieve anything they can.

Posts by users on Instagram and Twitter offer a small look at the extent of the damage.



"Sophieur Rehman stands outside his flooded home in Chanda Jan village near Goalpara in Assam which was devastated by a massive flood last week. Many houses have been washed away and often, like here, the mud walls have collapsed leaving the roof on top of a mass of mud and destroyed possessions (...)."



Displaced victims of the flooding in Assam take refuge at a nearby school that is being used as a relief camp.




Despite the tragic loss of life, relief efforts have been subject to political squabbling. Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi accused the central government of discrimination in the manner that it responded to floods in the North East, comparing it unfavourably to the response to the flooding in Jammu and Kashmir.

Gogoi said the state government was doing everything in its power to cope with the aftermath. Gogoi also lambasted Prime Minister for singing paeans to the Ganga during his recent speech at Madison Square Garden, while failing to mention the fate of the people who live around another – the Brahmaputra.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh surveyed the affected areas by air on Wednesday, but many citizens have called for Prime Minister Modi to visit the region himself. Others chide the country's major media networks for neglecting to report on the death and damage the floods had wreaked, instead focusing on Modi’s visit to the United States. Many took to social media to voice their anger and frustration.