Assam flood: IAF airlifts stranded locals as rescue ops continue; wet spell to peak tomorrow

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Relief and rescue operations continued in Assam on Sunday as the Indian Air Force worked to airlift stranded people and provide relief material to the flood-affected locals. Taking to Twitter, the IAF said transport aircraft and helicopters have been deployed for the task. 

Earlier on Saturday, the IAF had deployed An-32 transport aircraft, two Mi-17 helicopters, a Chinook helicopter and an ALH Dhruv, and had evacuated 119 passengers stranded at Ditokchera railway station.

A total of 24,749 stranded persons have been rescued with the help of the Indian Army, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), NDRF and volunteers.

As per the NDRF Inspector Mahip Mourya, the teams deployed for the rescue operation have rescued 500 people from the flood-affected villages of the Hojai district.

"Many did not want to leave their homes so we took relief and ration materials to them at their homes," Mourya added.

Assam flood situation remains grim

According to reports of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), 499 relief camps and 519 relief distribution centres are opened in all affected areas, in which a total of 92,124 inmates are currently staying in the camps.

The ASDMA reports also suggested that a total of 8,39,691 people from 3,246 villages in 32 districts have been affected by the flood, of which six have been affected by landslides in Assam.

As per the data, there has been a loss of 14 human lives (9 in flood and 5 in landslide incidents) in the first phase of the flood and 100,732.43 hectares of cropland have also been affected by the natural calamity in the state.

Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has already predicted a wet spell over Northwest and East India from May 21 to May 24 with its peak intensity on Monday (May 23).

(With inputs from ANI)

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