Guwahati: Assam’s flood situation worsened on Monday after three more people, including two teenage girls, lost their lives in Jorhat district, taking the state’s flood-related death toll to eight as continuous rainfall and rising river levels intensified the crisis.
The most tragic incident was reported from Titabor, where two girls – 14-year-old Susmita Mardha and Chuniya Pahariya, both from Panbari were swept away by the swollen Doi Jaan, a local stream that overflowed following heavy rain.
According to local sources, three teenage girls were caught in the strong current while crossing the stream on Monday morning. Residents and rescuers managed to save one of them, but the other two drowned despite immediate search efforts.
Titabor MLA Dhiraj Gowala visited the families of the victims and expressed condolences. He said the scale of flooding witnessed this year was unprecedented for the region.
“People in Titabor have never experienced floods of this magnitude before. This is an extraordinary natural disaster for the area,” Gowala said.
Later, Assam Tourism Minister Ajanta Neog toured several flood-affected locations in Titabor to review the situation. She also visited relief camps, including the one set up at Borhola College, where she interacted with displaced families and listened to their concerns.
In another incident in Jorhat district, 51-year-old Lalit Gogoi, a resident of Lukhurakhan village under the 12 No. Lahing Gaon Panchayat in Mariani, was swept away by floodwaters. Personnel of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) rescued him and shifted him to a hospital, but doctors declared him dead.
The three deaths reported during the day have pushed Assam’s flood-related death toll to eight. Earlier, the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), in its morning flood bulletin, had confirmed five deaths.
The flood situation continued to deteriorate across the state, with more than 1.7 lakh people affected in 12 districts. ASDMA said floodwaters have inundated 580 villages and damaged 10,362.9 hectares of agricultural land.
Several rivers remained in spate on Monday. The Brahmaputra was flowing above the danger level at Neamatighat. At the same time, the Buridihing at Khowang, Dikhou at Sivasagar, Disang at Nanglamuraghat and Dhansiri at Numaligarh also continued to flow above the danger mark, raising concerns over further flooding in the coming days.