Floods and landslides triggered by heavy rains in northeastern India kill at least 16 people
GUWAHATI, India: Floods and landslides triggered by heavy rains have killed at least 16 people in the past two weeks in northeastern India, where more than 300,000 people have been forced to flee their flooded homes, authorities said Tuesday.
The Indian army and air force are helping with rescue efforts in Assam, one of the worst-hit states. A military helicopter on Tuesday morning airlifted 13 fishermen stranded on a small island in the Brahmaputra, one of Asia’s largest rivers, to safety after four days, officials said.
The Brahmaputra River, which flows through Assam state for 1,280 kilometers (800 miles) before reaching Bangladesh, floods every year. But this year, increased rainfall has made the river — already known for its strong, unpredictable flow — even more dangerous to live near or in one of the more than 2,000 island villages in its middle.
In neighboring Arunachal Pradesh state, which borders China, landslides destroyed several roads. Army soldiers rescued 70 students and teachers from a flooded school in Changlang district, police said. Similarly, heavy flooding in the states of Sikkim, Manipur and Meghalaya washed away roads and collapsed bridges.
According to official figures, more than 80 people have died in six states in the northeastern part of the country since the end of May as a result of floods and mudslides triggered by rains.
Back in Assam, animals in the famous Kaziranga National Park, home to about 2,500 one-horned rhinos, are moving to higher ground to escape flooding. Park rangers are monitoring their movements to ensure their safety, state Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.
Landslide and flood disasters are common in the northeastern region of the country during the monsoon season from June to September. India, and the state of Assam in particular, is considered one of the most vulnerable regions in the world to climate change due to increased rainfall and flooding, according to a 2021 report by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water, a climate think tank based in New Delhi.