Guwahati (AsiaNews / Agencies) - At least 33 people dead and 1.5 million persons displaced is the provisional toll from the disaster caused by landslides and floods in Assam, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh (northeastern states). The Army and local and central governments have launched joint operations to move people to high ground with helicopters. The authorities have also set up at least 100 refugee camps.
The largest number of victims is concentrated mainly in Sikkim: 21 are confirmed dead, but eight others are still missing. Four people were buried in the mud, in Arunachal Pradesh. But it is in Assam that the situation is most critical: because in this area alone there are over 1 million people who have lost their homes and are now living in makeshift tents along the roads. Already in July, the northeastern state was hit by severe floods, which caused at least 110 deaths and more than 500 thousand displaced.
Over the past 60 years, governments have built levees along long stretches of the Brahmaputra River, the main river of Assam, fed by the melting of Himalayan snows. However, experts say these banks are in poor condition, and maintenance carried out for disaster management is insufficient.
The floods have also inundated three national parks of Assam. These include the Kaziranga National Park, home to two-thirds of the world's largest rhinoceros.
