Explained: The Assam floods and the unfolding of a food and water crisis

A continuous month of rain in Assam has wreaked havoc and caused untold devastation in the eastern state. As of Tuesday, 24.92 lakh people across 28 districts have been left suffering in the deluge with the death toll rising to 139.

Heavier than usual rains have submerged several villages, forcing locals to seek shelter in squalid conditions, sometimes even on roads. Hundreds of rescue camps have been set up to shelter those affected by the floods.

Watery woes

The heavy rain has left most parts of Assam’s Silchar in Cachar district under water for a week now.

The Brahmaputra, Beki, Kopili, Barak and Kushiyara have been flowing above the danger marks, while waters were receding in most other rivers.

According to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), a total of 2,389 villages in 72 revenue circles have been affected across the state, while 1,76,201 people have taken shelter in 555 relief camps.

Floodwaters have damaged 155 roads and five bridges, while seven embankments were breached — five in Hailakandi and two in Bishwanath.

Moreover, a crop area of 85,673.62 hectares is still inundated and 4,304 animals were washed away.

The floods have prompted Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to visit the severely-affected areas and interact with the people there; on Tuesday, he was in Bajali and Barpeta during the day.

Inspected the flood situation at Charalpara Nayapara at Bhabanipur, Bajali and took note of the hardships faced by the people.

We shall extend all necessary assistance to the affected people. We will also prepare a list of such people and take further actions accordingly. pic.twitter.com/A1nlwubkTD

— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) June 28, 2022

Tech giant Google has also launched a combination of Crisis Response efforts (SOS alert) to help communities and people affected by floods in Assam. Through these SOS alerts, users close to affected areas can look at emergency phone numbers, websites and maps directly via Google Search.

The SOS notifications include real-time flood forecasting, ongoing updates from emergency response organisations along with interactive maps.

Hunger and water scarcity

With the water gushing into villages and cities in Guwahati, the residents of Assam are now also having to deal with a lack of drinking water. Most water sources have become either inaccessible or polluted with debris, making them unfit for consumption.

Bottled drinking water has also run out of stock in many parts, forcing the stranded people to boil collected rainwater to drink.

Please help 🥺🙏🥺🙏
Assam Silchar 8822821563
There is no drinking water People will die without drinking water pic.twitter.com/h0Rb05L4bT

— BABU DAS (@BABUDAS34219273) June 25, 2022

There are also reports emerging that bottled drinking water is now more expensive than petrol in Silchar, and is being sold at Rs 120 for a litre.

Uttam Ghosh, a local resident of Basudev Nagar, was quoted as telling News18, “We have no drinking water. Now, we are using flood water to drink and survive.”

Food is also another difficult item to come by. Simi Dev, a resident of Silchar, told News18, “We are surviving on flood water. Sleeping on the beds submerged under water. No medical help, no food and even we are not being provided any relief material. Boats are charging Rs 2,000 for 100 to 200 meters. No NDRF is seen in our area. Whatever food materials were thrown from the air by the Air Force and the Army was taken by the owners of the houses on which that relief food is dropped.”

Lilabati Das belonging to Nagaon district is stranded with her family of seven and are struggling for food supplies. “We are eating only one meal a day and we don’t have resources to move somewhere else as well. We are waiting for government help,” said Das to NDTV.

Medical aid is also hard to come by in the state of Assam owing to the floods. The situation is so dire that Cachar Cancer Hospital Society is carrying out their check-ups under roadside trees in Silchar’s Meherpur area. Chemotherapy is also being administered to their patients on the roads outside the 150-bed facility.

@himantabiswa @dccachar day 5assam floods Access to hospital hasn't yet restored. Administering chemotherapy to a patient outside hospital who is afraid of crossing flooded entrance in a makeshift boat. pic.twitter.com/dmKDEx6rWd

— Ritesh Tapkire (@riteshtapkire) June 24, 2022

“Procedures that can be done outside, like chemotherapy and initial diagnosis, we are doing on the road where there is minimal water-logging,” Dharshana R, who heads the resource-mobilisation department of the hospital, told Reuters.

Double woes for women

The floods are a double whammy for women in the state. Reports have emerged that women aren’t relieving themselves owing to the paucity of dry land and clean water.

News18 has reported that women in Assam’s Nagaon and Darang districts are resorting to defecation every once in two-three days.

Women in the midst of their menstrual cycle are struggling. “I cannot afford sanitary napkins, nor do I have enough water to wash the clothes used during those five-six days. I stay awake at night out of anxiety. This is the worst that I can go through at a time when my house is drowning,” said Najma to News18.

Help pours in

The Indian Air Force along with the National Disaster Response Force has been carrying out rescue missions to get trapped people to dry land.

#आपदा_सेवा_सदैव_सर्वत्र 🇮🇳 https://t.co/3HpXGtE6N0

— NDRF 🇮🇳 (@NDRFHQ) June 29, 2022

In the past six days, the IAF has carried out multiple sorties and delivered 517 tonnes of relief material to the affected in Assam.

Relief Operations by #IAF continue unabated day and night.

Over the past six days, a total of 517 Tons of relief material has been airlifted across various flood affected regions of Assam and Meghalaya.#आपतसुमित्रम - A Friend in Need. pic.twitter.com/kjEGX50ZqY

— Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) June 28, 2022

Other NGOs and other outfits are also trying to reach the worst-affected people and provide them with food and water.

Assam Floods :@khalsaaid_india teams are distributing safe drinking water as there was acute shortage reported of drinking water in the areas devastated by floods in Silchar, Assam.

Our teams are responding to the crisis since the past one month.#assamfloods #khalsaaidindia pic.twitter.com/tRuuszCQJB

— Amarpreet Singh (@Amarpreet_01) June 25, 2022

Companies and individuals are also making donations to help provide relief materials to the affected in Assam.

With inputs from agencies

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