GUWAHATI (UCAN): “We are facing an unprecedented situation after floodwater entered the houses of people living in low-lying areas of seven districts in Assam,” said Allen Brooks, spokesperson for Assam Christian Forum, as incessant rain and floods forced hundreds of thousands of people to move to safer places in India’s Assam state, adding to the misery brought by the Covid-19 pandemic (SARS-CoV-2) and the devastation wrought by Cyclone Amphan when it made landfall on May 20.
Authorities have moved some 1,000 people from flooded areas to 35 relief camps as the state continues to witness heavy rain since the cyclone struck the eastern coast of India. The
Assam State Disaster Management Authority said flooding had affected 194,916 people as rain and strong winds wreaked havoc across the state.
Brooks said the rain has not stopped since the cyclone hit, leaving a trail of destruction in the coastal states of West Bengal and Odisha and killing 86 people. It also struck parts of Bangladesh.
The National Weather Forecasting Centre predicted more rain in the region.
The states of Meghalaya, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh received “extremely heavy rains in the past five days, which is likely to continue for another three days at least,” K. Sathi Devi, the center’s head, explained.
“Southwesterly moisture-laden winds are converging from the Bay of Bengal in the region. The rains aren’t likely to recede immediately.”
Bishop Thomas Pullopillil of Bongaigaon, said some parish churches and homes in his diocese are flooded.
“What we are experiencing now looks like an extension of the impact of Cyclone Amphan. Many people lost their houses in heavy rain and powerful winds. The unseasonal rain and floods have caught people off guard and made their lives miserable, especially as they were all working hard to contain the spread of Covid-19,” the bishop said.
Archbishop John Moolachira of Guwahati, Assam’s commercial capital, said the flooding has created a difficult situation.
“We have been working hard to settle migrant workers who have returned from other states” after they lost jobs because of the nationwide Covid-19 lockdown, he said, adding that the floods came when church people were arranging quarantine facilities and other basic requirements for returning migrant workers.
Archbishop Moolachira said the state government was arranging relief camps and food for people displaced by the floods while maintaining Covid-19 safety protocols.
“We are totally into helping repatriate migrants and keeping a watch on the surging flood as well,” he added.
Flooding has severely affected Goalpara district under the Archdiocese of Guwahati. “Our people have informed us of moving to safer places after their houses are flooded,” said Father Maya Martin Muchahary, the archdiocesan social work director, adding that there were are no reports of casualties.
“The diocese is finding it hard to arrange funds to support the flood victims. It had diverted a major portion of the funds to fight Covid-19,” the priest explained.
As rain continues with rivers flowing above the danger mark and roads disconnected, it is difficult to assess losses and damage. “We can do a survey only after the rain stops,” he said.
Brooks said many areas are also reporting waterborne diseases such as diarrhoea, noting that if the rain does not stop soon, medical care for such diseases will be difficult and could worsen the situation as government hospitals have already been converted to deal with Covid-19.
The flooding and Covid-19 hit Assam as it was fighting African swine fever. Close to 15,000 pigs reportedly died of the disease in April and May, affecting village farmers who depend on them for their livelihoods.
