Over 100 killed in floods in Bihar and Assam, 3.4 lakh people in relief camps
Seventy-eight people died in Bihar and 36 in Assam. Nearly 2,200 relief camps have been set up for displaced families in the two states.
More than 100 people have died due to the floods in Assam and Bihar so far, PTI reported on Thursday. As many as 1.08 crore people have been affected, data given by the two state governments showed.
The toll in Bihar rose to 78 on Thursday, with over 55 lakh people affected. Eighteen of the deaths were reported from Sitamarhi district and 14 from Madhubani, both which border Nepal. The floods were caused by torrential downpour in various parts of Nepal earlier this month.
Roads were washed away in some places and videos of bridges being damaged have surfaced from the flood-hit districts. Twelve residents were killed in Araria and nine each in Sheohar and Darbhanga districts.
Also read: Devastating scenes from the floods in Bihar and Assam show nothing changes over the years
About 1.1 lakh people were staying at relief camps in Sitamarhi and 3,721 in Madhubani, the state’s disaster management department said. The government set up 1,119 relief camps across the 12 affected districts to ensure the supply of proper food and safe drinking water. Twenty-six teams of the National Disaster Response Force and State Disaster Response Force are monitoring the flood-hit areas and 796 personnel are helping in relief and rehabilitation work.
Six rivers flowing through the state are still above the danger mark at many places.
Assam toll rises to 36
Meanwhile, the toll in the Assam floods rose to 36 on Thursday, with nearly 54 lakh people affected. Twenty-eight of the state’s 33 districts remained under the grip of floods. Barpeta was the worst-hit district with 13.48 lakh people affected by the deluge. Over 4,000 houses across the state were damaged and more than 25 lakh animals were affected.
Around 2.26 lakh displaced people took shelter in 1,080 relief camps and 689 relief distribution centres that were set up by the district administrations. National Disaster Response Force and State Disaster Response Force teams were working round-the-clock in the flood-affected areas to evacuate those stranded, the disaster management department said. Several rivers, including the Brahmaputra, were flowing above their danger levels.
The Centre also announced that it will conduct a topographical study of the state to understand the reasons behind the deluge every year.
Many people were also stranded and unable to attend the National Register of Citizens hearings, according to the Hindustan Times. “There are around 400 people whose hearings are pending and many have not been able to get to the centres because of floods,” Circle Officer of Goroimari Dhrubajyoti Hatibarua told Hindustan Times. “We are trying to inform the village headmen, the local NRC officials and others.”
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