GUWAHATI: A ‘red’ alert, with the prediction of very heavy rainfall occurring in several districts of Assam during the next five days, was on Sunday by the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The latest forecast was issued during a period of time when Assam is grappling with the first wave of floods this year brought on by incessant rainfall recorded in several districts of the state in the past several days.
Meanwhile, the flood situation in the state has continued to remain the same on Sunday, having left a trail of destruction with over 33,000 people across 14 districts left reeling with misery by the effects of the incessant downpour. Road communication in many parts of the state continued to be affected, hampering the movement of people and relief measures.
Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) of the IMD in Guwahati sent out a special weather bulletin, with a ‘red’ alert issued for Sunday and Monday predicting “heavy (7-11 cm in 24 hours) to very heavy (11-20 cm in 24 hours) with extremely heavy rainfall (over 20 cm in 24 hours)” set to occur in the districts of Kokrajhar, Chirang, Baksa, Barpeta and Bongaigaon in lower Assam.
The RMC has also forecasted “heavy to very heavy” rainfall, which is likely to take place in Dhubri, Kamrup, Kamrup Metropolitan, Nalbari, Dima Hasao, Cachar, Goalpara and Karimganj districts, during the same period.
The daily flood bulletin of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said that a population of 33,412 people, which included 15,446 males, 14,751 females, and 3,251 children, has been affected by the current wave of floods in the state.
Among the districts, the Brahmaputra’s north bank district of Lakhimpur is the worst-hit one, leaving 25,000 people reeling in the flood waters inundating 21 villages in the district. Dibrugarh district in upper Assam is the second in the list, where over 3,000 people have been struck by the floods.
According to the ASDMA, the rising waters of the Buridehing river has led to severe erosion the DRDA ring bund, which is only about 4-5 metre away. If the ring bund collapses, there is fear that the Brahmaputra’s waters will submerge the Dibrugarh district. The other flood-hit districts mentioned in the report are Biswanath, Cachar, Darrang, Dhemaji, Golaghat, Hojai, Nagaon, Nalbari, Sonitpur, Tinsukia and Udalguri.
Meanwhile, the Central Water Commission (CWC) daily bulletin said that several rivers, including the Brahmaputra in various parts of the state recorded to be flowing above the normal mark or the danger level. Moreover, based on the IMD’s prediction of very heavy rainfall in Kokrajhar, Dhubri, Baksa, Barpeta and Kamrup over the next two days, the CWC has predicted an increase in the water levels of the Brahmaputra and Puthimari, Aie, Beki, Pagladiya, Kopili and Sankosh- its tributaries, in these districts.
The water level is also predicted to rise in the Longai, Singla and Kushiyara river in Dima Hasao, Cachar and Karimganj districts in the Barak valley. Kopili river in Nagaon district has the danger level by over 60 m, although a falling trend of 20 mm/hour is noticed, even as Buridehing river is flowing above the danger mark in Margherita by over 134 m.
The water level in the Brahmaputra is recorded above the normal level in Dhubri, Dibrugarh, Sonitpur and Jorhat districts, along with Pagladia river in Nalbari, Sankosh in Dhubri, Beki in Barpeta, Kopili in Morigaon, Subansiri in Lakhimpur, and JiaBharali in Sonitpur- all have now crossed the normal level.
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