Assam floods: Sivasagar and Charaideo reel under worst deluge since 1950s
Tamuli Gaon, a village in Jorhat district of eastern Assam, escaped the fury of one of the worst localised floods since the 1950s, though its low-lying paddy fields remain submerged, turning the 110-family settlement into an island. The floods, which struck Sivasagar and adjoining Charaideo districts on July 19-20, were caused by extremely heavy rainfall in Nagaland's Mon district, which also triggered landslides that killed 11 people in Mon town.
"The water did not have enough force to cut through the embankments in our area, unlike those a few kilometres to the east, toward Sivasagar district," said Biju Kumar Sarmah, a teacher in Tamuli Gaon. He expressed concern about the remaining monsoon season, saying the floodwaters have less than half the distance to travel from Bihubar to Tamuli Gaon than from Mon to Bihubar.
Mon, the headquarters of Nagaland's Mon district, received extremely heavy rainfall from July 18 to 22, which drenched parts of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, and Nagaland. The downpour caused landslides, killing 11 people in Mon town, and sent large volumes of water from five major rivers and numerous streams rushing downstream, carrying earth and debris. More than 80% of Sivasagar and Charaideo districts were swamped.
Residents of Bihubar Nepalikhuti, a village near the Assam-Nagaland border with about 200 families of mostly dairy farmers, recounted their ordeal. Shivraj Sharma said the water trickled in gently around noon on July 19 and then suddenly became a "mahapralay" (total destruction), leaving residents thrashing about in neck-deep water. The village is close to the Dikhow River and along the road connecting Mon to Naginimora, a border town reliant on coal mining and trade. Several stretches of this road were erased by the overflowing river.
Sharma and his family climbed atop their tin-roofed house to save themselves, watching helplessly as villagers were swept past. Without food for two days and drenched by incessant rain, they feared drowning like their cattle. "Our tethered cows could have survived if we had the time to cut the ropes," he said.
When the waters receded, Bihubar Nepalikhuti was under at least 4 feet of silt, with tree branches, furniture, appliances, clothes, books, and carcasses of livestock strewn about. A 19-km road from Bihubar to Simaluguri remained flanked by silt-smeared refrigerators, televisions, two-wheelers, and other items. Floodwaters also caused extensive damage to an arterial railway track, snapping train services between eastern Assam and the rest of the state for almost a fortnight.
Habibur Rahman, a septuagenarian from Santak Bihubar village, recalled the "terrifying sound" as floodwaters approached, snapping trees and destroying everything in their path. "I don't know when we can go back to our house. I no longer have the money and the energy to clear the head-high debris from our house," he said.
Similar stories of devastation emerged from Bihubar Siloni Majgaon, Charing Gogoi Ali, Dighalijan, and Bhitoruwal Gaon. Moromi Bora Bordoloi, a weaver, said, "We were just not prepared, maybe because we are not used to such water fury." The floods have highlighted the region's vulnerability to extreme weather events, with at least two more months of rain expected this year.
