GUWAHATI: Videos showing the impact of Assam’s devastating floods are continuing to emerge as the state battles the aftermath of the deluge, with 5.24 lakh people across 763 villages still affected.Although the flood situation has started improving and waters are receding in several areas, the death toll has climbed to 68 after two more people died in Charaideo.The Dhansiri (South) at Numaligarh was the only river still flowing above the danger level.Nearly 48,742 hectares of crop area also remained submerged.Relief and rehabilitation efforts continued across the affected areas, with the state government also working to restore electricity in places where supply had been suspended as a precaution during the floods.The latest figures showed that the number of affected districts had fallen to nine, even as lakhs of people continued to deal with the impact of the floods.Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said state ministers would reach out across Assam to coordinate rehabilitation operations.The immediate priority, he said, remained providing relief to people in the worst-affected districts, including Sivasagar, Jorhat and Golaghat.The state government was also carrying out a coordinated exercise to restore power in flood-affected areas.Sarma said Assam Power Distribution Co Ltd teams were conducting safety inspections before restoring electricity in a phased manner across Sivasagar, Jorhat, Charaideo, Dhubri, Bongaigaon and other affected areas.The teams were working to restore essential services while ensuring that affected communities could return to normalcy, he said.As floodwaters receded in several areas, videos showing the impact of the deluge also continued to circulate online, giving a glimpse of the situation on the ground and the difficulties faced by people in affected areas.The latest situation comes as rescue, relief and rehabilitation efforts continue across the state.Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Sunday described the flood situation as “very serious”, saying the Centre and the state government were working together on relief and rescue operations.Sonowal said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had been closely monitoring the situation since the floods began and had remained in touch with Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.The NDRF and SDRF are continuing rescue and relief operations, while a high-level inter-ministerial team has arrived to speak to affected people and assess the situation.Singer Papon, who hails from Assam, has appealed to people in India and abroad to come forward and support those affected by the floods.In a video message, he spoke about villages being flooded, people remaining homeless and the loss of lives and animals.He urged people to look towards Assam and help in whatever way they could.
