3208 Villages Submerged Under Water
Heavy monsoon rains in the northeastern Indian state of Assam have caused flooding, resulting in more than 50 deaths so far, local media reported on the 6th (local time).
Assam officials reported that the death toll from the flood that occurred on the afternoon of the previous day has reached 52, and about 2.1 million people across 29 of the state's 35 districts have been affected by the flooding. Water levels in several rivers in the state, including the Brahmaputra River, continue to rise beyond dangerous levels. Assam disaster authorities stated that 3,208 villages have been submerged and 57,018 hectares (approximately 570 km²) of farmland have been flooded.
The authorities have set up 247 temporary shelters in the affected areas, accommodating about 760,000 residents and distributing essential supplies. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had issued flood warnings earlier this week for Assam and three neighboring states. In northern India, the monsoon usually begins in late June and lasts for three months.
Local media reported that Assam experiences flood damage every year during the monsoon season, but this year the damage is more severe. This is the third flood in Assam in less than two months. On May 26, Cyclone Yaas made landfall in Bangladesh and West Bengal, India, causing flooding, followed by more than a week of heavy rains in late last month that led to further flooding.
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