Floods in India's northeast kill nearly 100
The floods in Assam state have affected nearly 170,000, including thousands who have been forced into temporary shelters as swollen rivers inundate homes and farmland.
Floods in India's northeastern Assam state have claimed nearly 100 lives, according to an updated official toll on Friday, August 7. The catastrophic event has affected around 170,000 people, with thousands forced to seek refuge in temporary shelters as rivers swell and engulf homes and farmland. At least 97 fatalities have been recorded, as villages are buried in mud following one of the worst deluges in years.
The floods have submerged over 14,000 hectares of cropland, an area nearly one-and-a-half times the size of Paris. Residents and officials have pointed fingers at illegal coal mining in neighboring Nagaland for exacerbating the situation, which is exacerbated by climate change and poor development planning. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma visited the flood-hit region and expressed his condolences to the parents of a 13-year-old boy who lost his life while attempting to rescue his pet dog. The scale of the devastation, he noted, is so immense that it will take time to restore normalcy.
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