© EPA
A woman collects drinking water from a hand pump in the flood affected Morigaon district of Assam
The death toll in the ongoing wave of flood in the state climbed to 40 as six more people died on Tuesday, while nearly 16 lakh other people remain affected as the surging water of
Brahmaputra river and its tributaries brought 23 districts under water since Monday.
According to
Assam State Disaster Management Authority (
ASDMA), among the six dead reported on Tuesday, two are in
Jorhat district and one each from Chabua in
Dibrugarh district, Dimow in Sivasagar district, Baghbar in Barpeta district and Kamrup (metro).
Nearly 50,000 people of 2,498 villages have left their homes and taken shelter in temporary relief camps set up in schools, government buildings and on embankments in 16 of the worst-hit districts.
According to ASDMA, 73% of
Kaziranga National Park, that is bounded by Brahmaputra river on its north has inundated. The flood waters have also brought 129 anti-poaching camps for protecting the one-horned rhinoceros under water. The authority said that two female hog deer and one male swamp deer have died due to drowning in the northern range of the park.
Comment: Earlier report: Lightning strikes kill at least 26 people in 24 hours across Bihar, India