Flood
alert in Assam, 75,000 displaced
Tuesday July 19, 2011 12:44:58 PM,
IANS
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Guwahati:
The Assam government Tuesday sounded an alert as 75,000 people
were displaced following heavy overnight rains that triggered
flash floods, breaching roads and embankments at several places.
"So far more than 75,000 people have been displaced and they are
taking shelters in various makeshift camps," a government
spokesperson said.
Up to 800 villages in four districts - Lakhimpur, Dhemaji,
Sonitpur and Jorhat - have been hit by the floods so far, he said.
"We have alerted all agencies. Relief materials and medical teams
have also been rushed to the affected areas," the official said.
A Central Water Commission bulletin said the Brahmaputra river and
its tributaries were flowing above the danger mark in at least
eight places.
An estimated 50,000 people are now displaced in Lakhimpur and
Dhemaji, about 400 km east of Assam's capital here.
"Most of the flood-hit people are now taking shelter in raised
platforms, on railway tracks, and in government schools and
offices, so far untouched by the floods," he said.
The river island of Majuli in Jorhat district had a breach in a
mud embankment late Monday, leaving thousands of people stranded.
Gushing waters have breached at least four vital mud embankments
in the state, besides snapping road links. National Highway 52 in
eastern Assam has been severely affected.
A vast stretch of the Kaziranga National Park has come under
water, forcing forest guards to move out of the sanctuary and
making animals run for their safety.
"The situation is worrisome and we are concerned about the safety
of the animals and our forest guards," a park official said.
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