With the Indian Meteorological Department predicting heavy to very heavy rain in the next 24 hours, the flood ... Read More

GUWAHATI: The flood situation worsened in Assam in the last 24 hours, with five persons reported dead on Saturday, and the affected population rising to 11 lakh.

Nearly 64,000 people were rescued from 19 districts and sheltered in relief camps, reported the Assam State Disaster Management Authority. Train movement was affected due to heavy rain in the last 20 hours in West Bengal , Bihar, Assam and other northeastern states, reported the Northeast Frontier Railway headquarters.

Nearly 50% of Kaziranga National Park was inundated on Saturday , forcing animals to flee in large numbers in search of shelter in the highlands of Karbi Anglong district. With the Brahmaputra in spate, 89 out of 188 anti-poaching camps were submerged, and more areas could get flooded, said KNP divisional forest officer R B Saikia.

In the first wave of floods that hit KNP last month, 107 animals perished. Infrastructure worth Rs 7.35 crore was damaged, while patrolling roads, 130 camps, and several bridges were washed away . With the Indian Meteorological Department predicting heavy to very heavy rain in the next 24 hours, the flood situation is likely to worsen in Assam. While both Assam and Meghalaya will receive widespread rainfall till Wednesday , most places in Arunachal Pradesh , Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura will get showers on Sunday and Monday . In the last 24 hours, IMD recorded 370.6mm rain in Gossaigaon of Assam's Kokrajhar district and 279.8mm rain in Meghalaya's Cherrapunji.

Absence of nutritious food, medicines, proper clothes and other essentials has landed pregnant women of Lakimpur district in dire straits. The women, who were displaced during the first wave of floods in July , are living in unhygienic and disadvantaged conditions ever since they were rescued from their residences over a month ago.

Living in a `home' propped by rickety bamboo poles and a tarpaulin for a roof on a stretch off NH 52, sevenmonth-pregnant Sumi Bora feels she'll have to deliver her child on the road if immediate measures aren't taken by the administration.

