MUMBAI - The northeastern states of Sikkim and Assam, which have been inundated with flash floods and landslides in the past week, have begun the long road to recovery, officials said Thursday.
Flood waters are receding, damage is being evaluated and rescued villagers are being fed and reunited with their families, they said. Heavy rainfall has stopped in many areas, they said, allowing rescue workers to travel.
“In Assam, the situation is slowly improving,†Nandita Hazarika, deputy secretary of the state's disaster management department, said by telephone. Most of the state, apart from Majuli, a large, populated island in the Brahmaputra River, is now reachable b y road. In Assam, 18 people have died and 10 are still missing.
About three million people are estimated to have been affected by flooding and landslides over more than half of Assam, including nearly 2,600 villages. State officials have set up more than 1,000 relief camps housing more than 430,000 displaced people, Ms. Hazarika said. The Indian Army has been helping with relief efforts, using helicopters for rescue efforts and to drop food packages, she said.
Assam is home to several wildlife sanctuaries that have been affected by the flooding. In Kaziranga National Park, a total of 22 protected animals have been killed, including four rhinos. Ninety percent of the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, which is home to a large population of one-horned rhinos, is under water.
The weather has improved in Sikkim, and relief and rescue efforts are under way there, said S.B.S Bhadauria, the state relief commissioner. Sikkim has reported 29 deaths, with seven people st ill missing, he said. Helicopters are being used in the search efforts. Road connectivity has been restored to some parts of the state, and normal power supply is expected to be restored by Friday, Mr. Bhadauria said.
Officials said there was no early indication that the flooding could have been prevented. “There is nothing you can do to avoid the flooding â€" how can you make it stop raining,†Ms. Hazarika said. “The flood warning system was done in time as well,†she said.
