Floods and landslides in India affecting over a million people have plagued the country almost yearly. Assam is India’s most flood-prone state, and has seen twelve major floods, since 1950. The floods that have started early in the year, only worsened.
BSF, a rescue and recovery team is making attempts to help. It’s difficult for the rescue team to provide relief, because their camps are submerged under water. Rescuers have managed to extract six survivors, and discover four dead bodies in one small village. More than 100 soldiers were sent to help the people in Joumal. Assam Rifles were the first to respond to the village and were able to rescue three people, including the chief.
In Bongaigaon and Kokrajhar about 1,500 people, including twenty children and infants, were rescued by troops. A large amount of Army Doctors rushed to the areas, and provided medical assistance. A family of four in the village, Kokrajhar was stuck in their camp, and were rescued by the troops. 3000 liters of clean water were sent to the same area by the troops, because there was limited drinking water. Grain was also being distributed to other villagers affected by the flood.
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) sent four teams of the NDFR to Goalpara and Guwahati for rescue operations. The NDFR and the army were able to save about 200 lives, including school children.
In July, when the floods really began to become more destructive, 155 villages were affected. Since then, over 2200 villages have been swamped by the overflowing waters coming from the Brahmaputra River. Ten homes were completely washed away in only one small village and eighteen Lakh people are now homeless. More than 400 villages are inaccessible. In a small village, known as Nelochia, locals are surviving on limited food. Villagers there are hoping the government will take notice and help them.
“I think it’s inconsiderate of the government not to help. It’s their responsibility,” NHS sophomore Brianna Yacovelli said.
“The Assam disaster is tragic. Seeing the pictures of those young children drowning is heartbreaking. What's even more disconcerting is the neglect of the Indian government,” NHS social studies teacher Larry Saladin said.
Many of the missing are presumed dead, because they are believed to have drowned. In Meghalaya 24 people are missing, while 25 are confirmed dead. Three children in Assam’s Kamrup district were only a few of the many that drowned. “If other countries could help the people in Assam they should, because something like that could happen to us,” NHS junior Ian Wilson said.
Other activists believe that if it was another state dealing with the floods, more media coverage would be provided. Mumbai received more media coverage than Assam, and had more funds to recover from its floods. “It reminds me a little of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and how apathetic our government was in keeping our citizens safe. India has a lot of economic and social problems-foremost among them is the large gap between the wealthy and the poor. They need to do more to help these people,” Saladin said.
On September 8th, four rivers were flowing above danger levels, according to Assam State Disaster Management Authority. The Brahmaputra River, forced the Kamrup Metropolitan district administration to suspend all ferry services. The same river flooded 27 districts, leaving 2,000,000 people homeless. Over 100 people died, and about half of the people affected were children.
The floods have also resulted in waterborne diseases, killing nine people in Dibrugarh. Medical teams were sent to at risk areas, but the amount of people carrying the disease continues to increase.