At least 41 people have died and several remain missing after heavy monsoon rains triggered severe flooding in Assam, India’s northeastern state. The Assam floods India crisis has affected more than 700,000 people, with rescue teams evacuating residents across 11 flood-hit districts as the Brahmaputra River and its tributaries continue flowing above danger levels.
With 10 new deaths recorded in the last 24 hours, the death toll rose to 41 on Wednesday, according to a statement from the State Disaster Management Authority. The new deaths were reported across five districts. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said over 700,000 people had been affected by the disaster, with three people still missing as of Wednesday. “Cloudbursts and floods have struck even those districts of Assam where such an impact had not been witnessed before,” he said.
Scale of the Damage Across Assam
The flood wave has affected people across 11 districts, with the worst impact in Sivasagar, where 392,195 people have been affected, alongside significant numbers in Charaideo, Jorhat, Golaghat and Dibrugarh. Approximately 939 villages across 40 revenue circles remain underwater.
More than 313,000 displaced people are currently sheltering in 487 relief camps and centres. Over 24,000 hectares of cropland have been submerged, causing severe economic hardship for farming communities, while livestock losses have also been substantial, with nearly 139,000 animals affected, according to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA).
Central Government Sends Assessment Team
Assam’s chief minister confirmed that Union Home Minister Amit Shah will send an inter-ministerial team to assess the damage and coordinate relief efforts. Rescue and relief operations are continuing under the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).
Part of a Wider Monsoon Crisis Across India
Assam’s flooding forms part of a broader lethal monsoon season across India this week, with floods, cloudbursts and landslides battering regions from the northeast to the Himalayas and down into the plains. The combined toll from these events has surpassed 50 deaths nationwide, with many more people still missing.
In Jammu and Kashmir, at least 23 people have died and seven remain missing in flash floods and landslides across the Poonch, Rajouri and Doda districts since July 19. All major pilgrimages in the region, including the Amarnath and Vaishno Devi yatras, have been suspended since Sunday. Separately, rescue efforts continued this week after an under-construction tunnel collapsed in Sikkim, killing 20 workers.
The India Meteorological Department has forecast continued heavy to very heavy rainfall, with isolated extremely heavy falls, across several northern and northeastern states in the days ahead, suggesting the crisis is far from over.
