A train track segment in "Dima Hasao" after fortnight of heavy torrential rainfalls and mudslides, the ground on which the track was built was washed away, leaving the tracks hanging in the air.
Photo Source : NDTV
Assam flood’s forcing half a million North Indians to flee their submerged homes.
Heavy torrential rainfalls in the north eastern state of Assam has forced more than half a million North Indians to flee from their homes.
Brahmaputra, one of the worlds largest river that supplies India and its neighbor Bangladesh by flowing from Tibet, burst its banks in Assam in the past 4 days.
More than half a million North Indians are now displaced from their homes after river Brahmaputra broke its banks in Assam due to heavy pre-monsoon rainfalls. Photo Source : Reuters
Heavy flooding with incessant rainfall has triggered landslides and swamped over 1500 villages as of today.
With forecast for continued heavy rainfall for the next two days. Mudslides and flooding has severed railway connections and road links as well.
In New Haflong station of Guwahati, entire railway carriages have been derailed due to mudslides, impeding rescue efforts.Authorities are concerned as the situation is getting worse by the hour.
Continued mudslides combined with heavy rainfall is making rescue work extremely challenging.
Nearly 1500 villages have been swamped by heavy flooding, more and more people are trying to flee to higher grounds with their cattles and other necessities. Photo Source: Times Now.
National disaster and management officials have instructed displaced citizens to contact nearby flood relief camps for aid.
But with railways and roads disconnected in the face of the disaster, the large number of half a million displaced inhabitants have stretched the aid and relief lines thin.
Official response
Assam’s water resources minister Pijush Hazarika told press correspondents that more than half a million people have been affected in the floods till now, with 7 deaths in separate incidents reported in the last few days.
The state’s Health Minister Keshab Mahanta told that a rescue operation by Indian army in the district of Hojai, managed to bring nearly 2000 civilians to safety, the effort is still underway.
In New Haflong station of Guwahati, entire train tracks have disappeared under thick mud coatings, some carriages derailed on Wednesday after the tracks sunk under the mud. Photo Source : Reuters.
He also added that the flood prone state of Assam gets swamped by pre-monsoon rainfalls every two to three years, that take a heavy toll on the 36.3 million residents of Assam as well as the state’s economy.
National government must ensure the safety and security of the state in these tough times.
Assam’s Revenue Minister Jogen Mohan has been overseeing rescue efforts in the worst hit district of the state “Dima Hasao” where both road and railways networks have been disrupted due to heavy mudslides.
Conclusion
Meanwhile other cities of India, especially capital Delhi, has been witnessing severe heat wave like trends that has affected much of South-Asian countries as of late.
In Pakistan’s Sindh province, the city of Jacobabad, temperatures during daytime reached 51°C (123.8F) on Tuesday. An all time high in Pakistan’s history.
Delhi reported 49°C (122F) on Tuesday. Continued fossil fuel combustion combined with steady deforestation had induced the global warming trends since the early 1800’s.
The seeds of climate change have now spawned and will continue to threaten the existence of every living being on Earth.
