GUWAHATI — Severe flooding in the eastern Indian state of Assam has displaced tens of thousands and killed at least 24 people.

Heavier than usual rains have submerged several villages, forcing locals to seek shelter in squalid conditions, sometimes even on roads.

Hundreds of rescue camps have been set up to shelter those affected by the floods. Submerged roads and disrupted road and rail transport have made it difficult for aid to reach remote areas of the region.

The death toll has now gone up to 24 and more than half a million people have been impacted by these floods

According to data provided by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) the toll due to the disaster has now gone up.

“About 7.12 lakh people have been affected across 29 flood-affected districts, with central Assam’s Nagaon being the worst hit. So far, 74,705 people have been shifted to 234 relief camps,” an ASDMA spokesperson said.

A report received by ASDMA from the Water Resources Department’s Dibrugarh-based assistant executive engineer said “rain cuts and a major slump down” have been observed at a dyke downstream of the Bogibeel rail-road bridge across the Brahmaputra River.

A stretch of more than 2 km near the bridge was affected due to “incessant rainfall and movement of cattle and heavy vehicles”, the report said.

The Bogibeel Bridge is considered strategic for communication between areas on the northern and southern banks of the Brahmaputra in eastern Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.

The ASDMA report said at least 20 dykes have been breached across Assam and several bridges have either been washed away or damaged. Several roads have caved in or rendered unusable for vehicles while 43,090 houses have been fully or partially damaged across 2,251 flooded villages. — Agencies