Floods kill 25 in India’s Assam, displace thousands

Guwahati, May 25 (BNA) Floods and landslides in the northeastern Indian state of Assam have killed at least 25 people and displaced more than 650,000 from their homes in the past 10 days.

Heavy monsoons occur annually in the state of Assam, Reuters reported, causing floods and landslides that force residents to flee their homes, often leaving their belongings behind.

The Brahmaputra, one of the world’s largest rivers that flows from Tibet to India and finally to Bangladesh, blew up its banks in Assam, flooding more than 1,800 villages in 26 districts this month.

“Twenty people have died in separate drowning incidents and five others in landslides in the past 10 days,” said Bijosh Hazarika, Assam’s Minister of Water Resources, adding that the water level was receding.

Parts of the railway network were destroyed.

The authorities also set up 366 relief camps in 20 provinces, and provided temporary shelter to more than 95,000 people. The floodwaters inundated roads, homes and buildings in parts of the state.

MI