Assam flood claims 5 more lives, death toll reaches 80

Floods in Assam claimed five more lives on Friday, taking the toll in the state to 80 even as water levels in all the affected districts receded further, an official report said. Around 27.15 lakh people in 2,078 villages of 17 districts have been affected by the deluge. Of the five deaths, two were from Baksa district while one each was reported from Barpeta, Cachar and Biswanath, the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said in its report. Altogether 768 relief camps and 161 relief distribution centres are operational in the 13 affected districts.

The rivers flowing at danger level are the Brahmaputra at Neamatighat (Jorhat) and Dhubri, the Jia Bharali at N T Road Crossing (Sonitpur), the Puthimari at N H Road Crossing (Kamrup) and the Beki at Road Bridge (Barpeta), the ASDMA said.

The flood situation also remained grim in Bihar, where the death toll rose to 127 on Friday, even as the Nitish Kumar government said it would be writing to the Centre for help in the wake of the calamity which has affected more than eight million people.

The number of deaths, that had remained unchanged at 123 on Thursday, saw an increase of four on account of two casualties each reported from Darbhanga and Kishanganj districts, the state disaster management department said in a release.

The total number of casualties for Darbhanga now stands at 12 and seven for Kishanganj. Altogether 13 districts in the state are hit by the floods, which have affected 82.84 lakh people till date, the release said.

Kumar told the Bihar Assembly his government will be writing to the Centre to send a team to the state to "assess the damage" and "provide assistance as they deem fit".