GUWAHATI: The flood situation in Assam and other parts of the Northeast showed slight improvement on Thursday, even as two more deaths were reported from Assam. This took the total number of deaths due to floods and landslides across the region to 52 — 21 in Assam, 12 in Arunachal Pradesh, six each in Meghalaya and Mizoram, three in Sikkim, two in Tripura, and one each in Nagaland and Manipur.According to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), a total of 5,60,072 people across 19 districts of the state remain affected, with Sribhumi district in southern Assam alone accounting for 2,15,148 of them. A significant number of displaced residents have taken shelter in relief camps. The floods have also damaged 19,345.34 hectares of cropland and caused destruction to homes, roads, bridges. The Brahmaputra and several other rivers continue to flow above the danger level in some places, the ASDMA said.In neighbouring Manipur, 1,65,787 people continue to be affected, although the overall situation has marginally improved with water levels in major rivers beginning to recede. However, low-lying areas in the Imphal Valley, especially in Imphal East district, remained submerged following heavy rains that began on May 31.In Sikkim, one of the worst-affected states, the Indian Air Force on Thursday evacuated 199 people stranded in remote areas. Four Mi-17 and two Cheetah helicopters were deployed to carry out relief operations in the flood-ravaged state. The aircraft reached isolated and severely-hit areas like Chaten in North Sikkim and brought out several people to safety. “The helicopters were airborne at dawn today and evacuated more than a hundred survivors, including children, within a short period, in the tiny weather window available. They have delivered much-needed succour to civilians, service personnel and foreigners who have been stranded in this landslide hit region,” a senior Army officer said. However, there is still no trace of six individuals, including a Lieutenant Colonel, his retired Squadron Leader wife and their daughter, who went missing after a major landslide on Sunday.Meanwhile, in Arunachal Pradesh, the flood situation remained largely unchanged amid ongoing rainfall. Floods and landslides have affected more than 33,000 people in 214 villages across 24 districts of the state.
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