NEW DELHI: Devastating floods in India’s northeastern state of Assam have killed at least 68 people, displaced tens of thousands and left more than 600,000 residents affected in what officials describe as the region’s worst flooding in six decades.
Triggered by exceptionally heavy monsoon rains across Assam and neighbouring Nagaland, the floods inundated villages, swept away homes and damaged vital infrastructure, with the districts of Jorhat, Sivasagar and Charaideo among the hardest hit.
Authorities said at least 40 people remain missing, while around 25,000 have taken shelter in relief camps after rising rivers submerged large parts of the state.
For many families, the disaster has erased years of hard work. Eighteen-year-old Shalini Patra said floodwaters engulfed her home within minutes, leaving her family with nothing after their house was washed away.
State officials said rainfall in parts of Assam and Nagaland reached more than four times the seasonal average, causing rivers, including tributaries of the Brahmaputra, to rise rapidly and overflow.
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Experts said annual flooding in Assam has become more severe due to heavier rainfall linked to climate change, upstream deforestation and ageing embankments that struggle to contain rising water levels.
The state government has deployed emergency teams to deliver relief supplies, restore essential services and accelerate rehabilitation efforts in the worst-affected areas.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the focus was now shifting from rescue operations to rebuilding communities devastated by the floods.
With many homes destroyed and livelihoods lost, thousands of families remain uncertain about when they will be able to return home and begin rebuilding their lives.
