Authorities in India‘s northeastern state of Assam reported on Wednesday that more than 500,000 people have fled their homes to avoid massive floods produced by pre-monsoon rains that have killed seven people.
The Brahmaputra, one of the world’s biggest rivers, which flows from Tibet into India and Bangladesh, burst its banks in Assam over the previous three days, inundating almost 1,500 communities.
Torrential rains pounded most of the hilly state on Wednesday, and more rain is expected over the following two days.
“More than 500,000 people have been affected,” Assam’s water resources minister, Pijush Hazarika, told the media, adding that seven people have perished in different events during the previous three days.
According to the state’s health minister, Keshab Mahanta, Indian army soldiers rescued more than 2,000 persons stranded in the Hojai district in a rescue attempt that is still ongoing.
National officials predicted that water levels in the Brahmaputra will continue to climb.
“The situation in the worst-affected Dima Hasao area remains extremely severe, with both train and road linkages snapped owing to water and landslides,” said Jogen Mohan, Assam’s revenue minister, who is directing rescue operations there.
A scorching wave is wreaking havoc on cities across India, including the capital, New Delhi.
