Water, Water Everywhere Not A Drop To Drink

Flash floods cause distress to people (and animals) across Assam every year, and yet, effective preventive measures are yet to be put in place

Thirty out of the thirty-three districts were affected by one of the worst floods in the recent years in Assam last month. According to data released by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority, the death toll touched 86 on July 30 with a likelihood to go up in the next few days. Over 273 villages in 28 districts remain affected. It was also reported that 2 lakh hectares of crop land was affected by flood waters. Dhemaji, Lakhimpur and Majuli were the worst hit districts with heavy damage to croplands. Infrastructure across the State took a hit including roads, bridges, culverts, even public utilities.

The monsoon also caused devastation in Kaziranga National Park, killing as many as 209 animals. The casualty has been the highest among hog deer, small deer with unusually large round ears. A total of 111 hog deer, 18 wild boar, 17 rhinos, 12 sambars, seven swamp deer, three porcupines, two water buffaloes and one elephant drowned in the submerged park.

Some animals even attempted to cross the park to reach nearby higher grounds. As many as 16 hog deer and one sambhar was killed after being hit by vehicles on National Highway-37 bordering the park, as per the data shared by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority. It would be an understatement to say that the State is in immediate need for long term and viable solutions to this annual disaster.

We try and understand Assam’s flood problem, and also find ways to prevent the widespread devastation.

Cause and Effect

The Brahmaputra River features among the world’s top five rivers in terms of discharge as well as the sediment it brings. At 19,830 cubic meters per second (cumec), it ranks fourth in discharge at the mouth, behind only the Amazon (99,150 cumec), the Congo (39,660 cumec) and the Yangtze (21,800 cumec), according to data from a 2008 research paper.