Marginal improvement in Assam flood situation; over 6.5 lakh affected, 4 more deaths take toll to 66

Guwahati: Even as nearly 6.55 lakh people remained affected across six districts, authorities said the flood situation in Assam had improved marginally on Saturday. Howver, four deaths were reported in a day that took the toll in this year's deluge in the state to 66.

According to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), four people lost their lives in the deluge in a day, with Sivasagar accounting for three deaths, and Charaideo one.

A PTI report, quoting ASDMA, said while more than 7.05 lakh people were hit by floods across nine districts on Friday, the situation showed signs of improvement a day later, but with 6,54,800 still affected by the deluge in Charaideo, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Jorhat, Nagaon and Sivasagar districts.

Sivasagar was the worst-hit district with nearly 2.9 lakh people reeling under the deluge, followed by 1.9 lakh people in Charaideo and more than 1.3 lakh people in Jorhat.

ASDMA said the administration was operating 274 relief camps and aid distribution centres in six districts, taking care of 18,902 people displaced due to inundation.

According to its daily bulletin, 810 villages were under water, and 34,970.8 hectares of crop areas were damaged across Assam. River embankments, roads, bridges and other infrastructure were also damaged by the flood.

The Dikhou and the Dhansiri rivers were flowing above the danger level in Sivasagar and Numaligarh.