Assam continues to face nature's wrath as floods in the north eastern state has claimed 10 lives so far and has affected over 2.35 lakh people. Coupled with the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and gas leak in Baghjan Oil field, Assam is witnessing heavy rains for the past few weeks now.
Floodwaters entered 16 districts of?Assam?on Friday and?Dhemaji remained the worst-hit district in the state, followed by Tinsukia, Majuli and Dibrugarh.
The deluge claimed one life in Dibrugarh district, according to the daily flood bulletin of the?Assam?State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA).
The Brahmaputra river and its tributaries are flowing above the danger level at several places and have flooded Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Biswanath, Udalguri, Darranf, Baksa, Nalbari, Kokrajhar, Barpeta, Nagaon, Golaghat, Jorhat, Majuli, Sivasagar, Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts, the officials said.
District authorities have set up 142 relief camps and distribution centres in six districts, where over 18,000 people have taken shelter, the ASDMA said.
A report from Morigaon said 80 per cent area of the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary has been inundated, forcing wild animals, including one-horned Indian rhinos, to move to nearby highlands.
The sanctuary has more than 100 rhinos, 1,500 wild buffaloes and thousands of hogs.
According to its ranger, the floodwaters entered the sanctuary on Thursday and the situation is "alarming".
The deluge has also overrun nearly 12,000 hectares of agricultural land with standing crops, the report said.
The Brahmaputra is flowing above the danger mark at Neamatighat in Jorhat district, Dhubri town and Tezpur in Sonitpur district, the bulletin said.
Roads and infrastructure have been damaged at several places, it added.