Floods in Assam, Arunachal: 3 killed, lakhs affected

The two-year-old girl, an Itanagar resident, died after her house collapsed under a landslide on Thursday. Her body was dug out of the debris and she was declared brought dead at a hospital. Chief Minister Pema Khandu has announced Rs 4 lakh to her next of kin.

In Assam, a person was killed in Dhemaji district, where 383 people were lodged in three relief camps on Thursday. The death took this year’s flood toll in the state to 13. Earlier this month, 21 people were killed in a landslide in the Barak Valley region of Assam. The Regional Meteorological Centre in Guwahati has predicted heavy rainfall for major parts of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Manipur on Friday and Saturday.

The day’s bulletin from the Assam State Disaster Management Authority said nearly two lakh people were “affected” by the floods, while 11,500-odd persons are in relief camps. Nine districts—Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Biswanath, Golaghat, Jorhat, Majuli, Sivasagar, Dibrugarh, Tinsukia — were on Thursday impacted by the floodwaters.

Meanwhile, neighbouring Bhutan released water from its Kuricchu dam from 5am on Thursday, ramping up the water level in rivers flowing through the bordering districts of Chirang, Baksa and Barpeta. The Kurichhu Hydropower Plant—a run-of-the-river project—is located on the river by the same name in Bhutan.