Incessant rains have lashed many parts of the state of Assam causing an alarming rise in the water level of the Brahmaputra River affecting all 27 districts of the State. ACT members are present in the area of flooding and have carried out needs assessments.
The Brahmaputra has breached its embankment in five places affecting 1,744 villages across nine districts and 70,000 hectares of cropland.
The worst-hit districts include Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Nalbari, Barpeta and Dhubri where water has engulfed large areas of cropland. This is claimed to be the worst flood in Assam since 1950.
“We have lost all our cultivation, houses, food grain, household goods and essentials including the school books of the children. It was a sudden blow for the whole family,” Mr. Boloram Gorh from the village Bogoribari said. He had never seen this kind of devastating flood in his life time.
A case study from ACT member CASA tells the story on village level:
On Wednesday 27th June morning the water started flowing and the level raised rapidly within the next two hours. The villagers searched for safer places and were evacuated by to a nearby village called Dipatola.
Situated on higher ground the evacuees found shelter in the school. They stayed there for five days and returned home to find their houses were still not safe for staying.
The water level has now receded but the villagers fear for their future as their paddy fields have been destroyed, rice seed damaged and they have unsafe drinking water. There is an imminent threat of malaria, cholera and other waterborne diseases.
As of now, more than 1.2 million people have been affected and to date the death toll stands at 88. The floods are also threatening the existence of Majuli, the world's largest inhabited river island. The Kaziranga National Park, a world heritage site, and Pabitora sanctuary, both housing the highly endangered one horned rhino, are under flood waters. 16 people have also died due to landslides triggered by incessant heavy rain in various parts of the state in the past two weeks, and 15 more persons are reported missing in the flood affected districts.
Standing crops such as rice have been destroyed. Nearly 484,000 affected people have fled their homes and are sheltering in 768 relief camps while mobile rescue centres are in operation to provide help to the affected people. Large numbers of people have taken shelter on higher ground with their livestock. An army spokesman reported that over 2,500 marooned people have been rescued by the army from the flood affected districts of Assam.
There is extensive damage to public infrastructure and thousands of houses have collapsed. More than 50 potable water sources have been contaminated by the floodwaters. Grain banks have also been damaged.
ACT members Lutheran World Service India Trust (LWSIT) and Churches Auxiliary for Social Action (CASA) are both present in the area of flooding and have carried out needs assessments in their different operational areas.
The most urgently needed items include shelter, food, potable water and household items. Both members are in an ideal situation to extend such relief items to those who have had to leave their homes but have not received any assistance. Provision of these basic items will help these families on the road to re- establishing their lives.