Guwahati, May 20: Relief distribution and rescue operations by the Assam government continued on a war footing across the flood/landslide-hit districts of the state on Friday, even as the situation remains critical amid incessant rains, with a population of over eight lakh in 29 districts still affected.
The death toll in the first wave of the deluge, according to a report of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), increased to 10, five each in floods and landslides (which has hit five districts)
A total of 21,884 stranded persons have been evacuated with the help of SDRF, NDRF and volunteer teams.
“In the past couple of days, 269 stranded people have been rescued from Dima Hasao district with the help of Indian Air Force (IAF) and they have been airdropped in Silchar,” the ASDMA report said.
“A team of specialists from ISRO is already making a rapid damage assessment in Dima Hasao using drones and satellite data for providing information on the post-disaster need assessment. Steps for recuperating the broken communication systems are being taken to establish contact with remote areas in the hill district,” the report said.
Meanwhile, the Assam government has allotted additional funds of Rs 2 crore each to Cachar and Dima Hasao, two severely-affected districts, for releasing gratuitous relief to the affected people.
“A total of 24 metric tonnes (MT) of food items have been transported to Dima Hasao district with the help of IAF in the past days,” the report said.
It may be noted that UNICEF has offered help by deploying seven teams of technical specialists and consultants to support DDMAs of Cachar, Hojai, Darrang, Biswanath, Nagaon, Morigaon and Dima Hasao to monitor flood relief camps in accordance with the relief camp management SOP, assess ground situation and needs and support relevant stakeholders in strengthening the response activities.
ASDMA is also contemplating to augment disaster response forces from nearby states to further strengthen response if the situation becomes more critical.
“About 800 AAPDA Mitra volunteers and 88 Circle Level Quick Response Team (CQRT) volunteers across the state have been trained in search and rescue techniques and their services are being utilised by local authorities for flood response in different flood and landslide-affected districts of Assam,” it said.