Songpi, July 23, 2026: Assam’s flood situation remains grim with 10 more deaths reported in the last 24 hours, taking the overall toll in the current wave to 41, officials said on Wednesday.
According to a late-night bulletin by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), the 10 fresh deaths were reported from five districts. The state government said the ongoing wave of floods in eastern Assam is the worst in 60 years.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who toured the affected districts on Wednesday, said more than 8 lakh people have been affected so far. He said the damage is far greater than anticipated and more bodies are being recovered from the affected districts.
“The areas that normally experience high floods every year are not affected much this time. We have to get to the bottom of the problem and discuss with Nagaland how to deal with it,” Sarma said, referring to Sivasagar, Charaideo and Jorhat districts.
The government said the floods have affected 6,53,164 people across 939 villages in 11 districts, down from 16 districts a day earlier. Crops on 24,897.27 hectares have been damaged. The district authorities have set up 106 relief camps where 24,418 people have taken shelter.
Replying to a discussion in the 126-member Assam Assembly, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pijush Hazarika said the disaster in Sivasagar, Charaideo and Jorhat, which rarely experience floods of this magnitude, has been unprecedented. He said the authorities were caught off-guard after a cloudburst in neighbouring Nagaland’s Mon district triggered massive inflow of water.
The cloudburst in Mon on July 19 caused multiple landslides and killed at least nine people in Nagaland, adding to the surge downstream.
Sivasagar, Charaideo and Jorhat continue to be the worst hit. Of the total 31 deaths reported till Tuesday evening, 13 were from Sivasagar, five from Charaideo, two from Golaghat and one from Jorhat. Six other deaths were reported from Dhemaji, Golaghat, Karbi Anglong and Sonitpur.
Visuals from Golaghat on July 22 showed people transporting a motorcycle on a makeshift raft through a flooded street after heavy rainfall.
The India Meteorological Department has predicted moderate to heavy rainfall with thunderstorms at isolated places in Guwahati and other districts over the next four days. It warned of aggravated water-logging, flooding, flash floods, slow vehicular movement and increased risk of localised landslides in vulnerable pockets, especially in Guwahati.
The Army has also been deployed to reach out to flood-hit areas and assist in relief and rescue operations.
